The  Journal 

of 

Countess  Francoise  Krasinska 


FRANCOISE  KKASIXSKA. 
(From  a  portrait  by  Angelica  Kanffmiin.\ 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  COUNTESS 
FRANCOISE    KRASINSKA 

GREAT  GRANDMOTHER  OF  VICTOR 
EMMANUEL 


TRANSLATED     FROM     THE     POLISH 


KASIMIR  DZIEKONSKA 


SEVENTH    EDITION 

CHICAGO 

A.  C.  McCLURG  AND   COMPANY 
1899 


COPYRIGHT, 
BY  A.  C.  MCCLURG  &  Co, 

A.D.    189$. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FRANCOISE  KRASINSKA      -     -     -      Frontispiece 

From  a  Portrait  by  Angelica  Kauffman,  now 
in  possession  of  Mrs.  George  Rutiedge 
Prestou,  New  York. 

THE  RUINS  OF  MALESZOW 

CASTLE To  face  page     16 


THE  KING'S  CASTLE  IN  WARSAW     -     -     -  106 


THE  LAZIEXKI  PALACE  IN  WARSAW    -     -  118 

The  Summer  Residence  of  Stanislaus  Ponia- 
towski,  the  last  King  of  Poland. 


2057037 


THE  JOURNAL 

OF 

COUNTESS  FRANCOISE  KRASINSKA 

IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURV. 


IN  THE  CASTLE  OF  MALESZOW, 
Monday,  January  i,  1759. 

ONE  week  ago  —  it  was  Christmas  day  — 
my  honored  Father  ordered  to  be  brought 
to  him  a  huge  book,  in  which  for  many 
years  he  has  written  with  his  own  hand  all 
the  important  things  which  have  happened 
in  our  country ;  also  copies  of  the  notable 
pamphlets,  speeches,  manifestoes,  public 
and  private  letters,  occasional  poems,  etc., 
and  having  placed  everything  in  the  order 
of  its  date,  he  showed  us  this  precious  col- 
lection and  read  to  us  some  extracts.  I 
was  much  pleased  with  his  idea  of  record- 
ing interesting  facts  and  circumstances; 
and  as  I  know  how  to  write  pretty  well  in 


8  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

Polish  and  in  French,  and  have  heard  that 
in  France  some  women  have  written  their 
memoirs,  I  thought,  "  Why  should  not  I  try 
to  do  something  of  the  kind?  " 

So  I  have  made  a  big  copy-book  by  fas- 
tening together  many  sheets  of  paper,  and 
I  shall  note  down,  as  accurately  as  I  am 
able,  everything  which  may  happen  to  me 
and  to  my  family,  and  I  shall  also  mention 
public  affairs  as  they  happen,  as  far  as  I 
may  be  acquainted  with  them. 

To-day  is  New  Year's  Day  and  Monday, 
a  very  proper  season  to  begin  something 
new.  I  am  at  leisure ;  the  morning  Service 
is  finished,  I  am  dressed  and  my  hair  is 
curled;  ten  is  just  striking  on  the  castle 
clock,  so  I  have  two  hours  till  dinner  time. 
Well,  I  begin. 

I  was  born  in  1742,  so  I  am  just  past 
my  sixteenth  birthday.  I  received  at  the 
christening  the  name  of  Francoise.  I  have 
heard  more  than  once  that  I  am  pretty, 
and  sometimes  looking  in  the  mirror,  I 
think  so  myself.  "  One  has  to  thank  God, 
and  not  to  boast,"  says  my  gracious 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  g 

Mother ;  "  it  is  He  that  hath  made  us  and 
not  we  ourselves."  I  have  black  hair  and 
eyes,  a  fair  complexion  and  rosy  cheeks. 
I  should  like  to  be  a  little  taller,  but  they 
frighten  me  by  saying  I  shall  not  grow  any 
more.  I  am  descended  from  the  not  only 
noble,  but  very  old  and  illustrious  family  of 
Korwin  Krasinski.  God  forbid  I  should 
ever  tarnish  the  glorious  name  I  am  for- 
tunate enough  to  bear !  on  the  contrary  I 
should  like  much  to  add  to  its  fame,  and  I 
am  often  sorry  I  am  not  a  man,  as  I  should 
then  have  more  opportunities. 

The  Count,  my  honored  Father,  and  the 
Countess,  are  so  sensible  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  Korwin  Krasinski  family,  and  they 
so  often  speak  of  it,  —  not  only  they,  but  our 
courtiers  and  our  guests  as  well,  —  and  it  is 
thought  by  all  to  be  such  a  great  reproach 
not  to  know  precisely  about  our  ancestors, 
that  we  all  have  our  heads  full  of  that  kind 
of  information.  I  can  recite  the  genealogy 
of  the  Krasinskis  and  the  history  of  each 
of  them  as  perfectly  as  my  morning  prayer, 
and  I  think  that  I  should  have  more  diffi- 


10  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

culty  in  telling  the  names  of  our  Polish 
kings  in  chronological  order  than  in  telling 
those  of  my  ancestors.  The  pictures  of 
the  most  illustrious  are  in  our  hall, l  but  it 
would  take  too  long  to  write  about  each  of 
them.  The  first  of  whom  we  know  any- 
thing was  Warcislaus  Korwin,  from  the  old 
Roman  family '  of  Corvinus,  who,  in  the 
eleventh  century,  came  from  Hungary  to 
Poland  and  was  appointed  the  Hetman 
(General-in-chief)  of  the  army  of  King 
Boleslaus  II. 

Having  espoused  a  noble  lady  of  the 
name  of  Pobog,  Korwin  united  his  crest  — 
a  raven  holding  a  ring  —  to  that  of  the 
Pobogs  —  a  hand  grasping  a  sabre  —  and 
such  is  still  our  cognizance.  His  grandson 
was  the  first  to  take  the  name  Krasinski, 
that  is,  of  Krasin,  from  an  estate  bestowed 
upon  him  by  the  King  as  a  reward  for  his 
bravery ;  and  from  that  time  forward  many 
hetmans,  castellans,  woivodes,2  bishops,  etc., 

xThey  are   still   in   Count    Adam    Krasinski's 
palace  in  Warsaw. 
2  Governors  of  provinces. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  II 

made  the  Krasinski  name  famous  in  Polish 
history. 

One  of  them,  Alexander,  in  this  very 
same  Maleszow  Castle  where  I  am  now 
quietly  writing,  resisted  so  bravely  a  great 
Tartar  army,  in  one  of  its  plundering  ex- 
cursions from  Asia,  that  ^the  chief  was 
obliged  to  retreat ;  but  before  leaving,  he 
sent  to  the  valorous  castellan,  as  a  token  of 
his  admiration,  the  most  precious  thing  he 
possessed,  —  namely,  a  clock,  of  very  simple 
construction,  it  is  true,  but  a  great  wonder 
at  that  time.  This  curious  relic,  this  gift 
from  an  enemy,  —  and  he  a  Tartar,  more 
accustomed  to  take  than  to  give,  —  is  still 
preserved  with  great  care  in  our  family ; 
I  have  seen  it  but  twice  in  my  life,  my 
honored  Father  keeping  it  so  carefully,  and 
I  am  sure  he  would  not  exchange  it  for  ten 
Paris  clocks  with  all  their  chimes. 

This  valiant  ancestor  of  mine  was  killed 
in  a  war  with  Russia,  and  left  no  son.  His 
nephew  John  built  in  Warsaw  a  magnificent 
palace  in  the  Italian  style,  which  is  said  to 
be  more  beautiful  than  the  King's  Castle  ; 


12  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

but  I  have  not  seen  it,  as  I  have  never  been 
in  our  capital. 

John's  brother,  Alexander,  the  castellan 
of  Sandomir,  was  my  own  grandfather.  His 
son,  Stanislaus,  the  Staroste l  of  Nova  Wies 
and  Uscie,  is  my  honored  and  beloved 
Father ;  he  married  Angela  Humiecka,  the 
daughter  of  the  famous  Woivode  of  Podole, 
my  honored  and  beloved  Mother.  But,  to 
my  great  sorrow,  this  line  of  the  Krasinski 
family  will  become  extinct  with  the  Count, 
my  Father,  as  he  has  four  daughters,  but 
no  son :  Basia  (a  pet  name  for  Barbara) 
is  the  eldest ;  I  am  the  second ;  then 
comes  Kasia  (Katherine)  ;  and  Marynia 
(Mary)  is  the  youngest. 

The  courtiers  tell  me  often  I  am  the 
handsomest,  but  I  am  sure  I  do  not  see  it ; 
we  all  have  the  bearing  becoming  young 
ladies  of  high  station,  daughters  of  a  Star- 
oste ;  we  are  straight  as  poplars,  with  com- 
plexions white  as  snow  and  cheeks  pink  as 
roses ;  our  waists,  especially  when  Madame 
ties  us  fast  in  our  stays,  can  be,  as  they 

1  Honorary  judge. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  13 

say,  "  clasped  with  one  hand."  In  the 
parlor  before  guests  we  know  how  to  make 
our  courtesy,  low  or  degage,  according  to 
their  importance ;  we  have  been  taught  to 
sit  quiet  on  the  very  edge  of  a  stool,  with 
our  eyes  cast  down  and  our  hands  folded, 
so  that  one  might  think  we  were  not  able 
to  count  three  or  were  too  prim  even  to 
walk  out  of  the  room  easily.  But  people 
would  think  differently  if  they  saw  us  on  a 
summer  morning,  when  we  are  allowed  to 
go  to  the  woods  in  morning  gowns  and 
without  stays,  puffs,  coiffures,  or  high-heeled 
shoes :  oh  !  how  we  climb  the  steep  hill- 
sides, and  run  and  shout  and  sing,  till  our 
poor  Madame  is  quite  out  of  breath  from 
running  and  calling  after  us. 

As  yet  I  and  my  two  younger  sisters  have 
seldom  left  home :  Konskie,  the  home  of 
our  aunt,  the  Woivodine l  Malachowska, 
whom  we  visit  twice  a  year ;  Piotrowice, 
where  my  honored  Father,  after  his  return 
from  Italy,  built  a  beautiful  chapel,  like  the 
one  in  Loretto;  Lisow,  where  stands  our 

1  Wife  of  a  woivode. 


14  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

parish  church,  —  these  bound  all  our  experi- 
ences in  travelling.  But  Basia,  as  the  eld- 
est, has  already  seen  a  good  part  of  this 
world  :  she  has  been  twice  to  Opole,  visit- 
ing our  aunt,  the  Princess  Lubomirska, 
Woivodine  of  Lublin,  whom  my  Fathei 
loves  and  venerates  as  a  mother  rather 
than  as  an  elder  sister.  Basia  has  spent 
also  one  year  in  the  convent  of  the  Ladies 
of  the  Visitation  at  Warsaw,  and  so,  of 
course,  she  knows  more  than  any  of  us  :  her 
courtesies  are  the  lowest,  and  her  manners 
the  most  stately. 

My  honored  Parents  are  thinking  now  of 
sending  me  also  somewhere  to  finish  my 
education ;  I  am  expecting  every  day  to 
see  the  carriage  drive  up  to  the  door,  and 
then  my  gracious  Mother  will  tell  me  to  sit 
beside  her,  and  she  will  take  me  either  to 
Warsaw  or  to  Cracow.  I  am  perfectly 
happy  at  home,  but  Basia  liked  the  convent 
very  much,  so  I  hope  that  I  shall ;  and 
then  I  shall  improve  in  the  French  lan- 
guage, which  is  now  indispensable  for  a 
lady;  also  in  music  and  in  dancing,  and 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  15 

besides  that  I  shall  see  a  great  town,  our 
capital. 

As  I  have  not  seen  many  castles  besides 
Maleszow,  I  cannot  judge  whether  it  is 
pretty  or  not.  I  only  know  that  I  like  it 
very  much.  Some  people  think  that  our 
castle,  with  its  four  stories  and  its  four  bas- 
tions, surrounded  with  a  moat  full  of  water 
crossed  by  a  drawbridge,  and  situated 
amidst  forests  in  a  rocky  country,  looks 
rather  gloomy,  but  I  do  not  think  so  at  all. 
I  am  so  happy  here  that  I  should  like  to 
sing  and  dance  all  day  long.  I  hear  my 
honored  Parents  complaining  sometimes 
that  they  are  not  quite  comfortable  here. 
It  is  true  that,  although  on  each  floor  there 
are  besides  the  parlor,  six  large  rooms  and 
four  smaller  ones  in  the  bastions,  we  can- 
not all  be  accommodated  on  the  same 
floor,  as  we  are  a  very  numerous  family. 
The  dining-rooms  are  on  the  first,  the 
dancing  hall  on  the  second,  and  we  girls 
have  to  occupy  the  third  floor.  My  hon- 
ored Parents  are  no  longer  young,  and  it 
fatigues  •  them  to  go  up  and  down  every 


1 6  THE    JOURNAL   OF 

day,  but  for  me  these  stairs  are  just  my 
delight !  Often,  when  I  have  not  yet  all 
my  puffs  on,  I  grasp  the  stair-rail  and  I  am 
down  in  one  second  without  my  foot  once 
touching  the  steps.  Oh  !  it  is  such  fun  ! 

It  is  true  our  many  guests  may  some- 
times be  crowded  a  little  in  their  sleeping 
rooms,  but  nevertheless,  they  visit  us  often, 
and  I  do  not  know  that  we  could  amuse 
ourselves  better  in  a  more  spacious  palace. 
I  think  the  Maleszow  Castle,  if  three  times 
as  large,  could  not  be  more  magnificent ; 
it  is  so  gay  and  lively  that  the  neighbors 
often  call  it  little  Paris.  We  are  especially 
gay  when  winter  comes ;  then  the  captain 
of  our  dragoons  does  not  lift  up  the  draw- 
bridge until  night,  so  many  people  are  con- 
tinually driving  in  and  out,  and  our  court- 
band  has  enough  to  do  playing  every  clay 
for  us  to  dance. 

But  I  ought  not  to  forget  to  speak  about 
the  retinue  of  our  Castle,  which,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  rank  of  my  honored  Parents, 
is  very  numerous  and  stately. 

There  are  two  classes  of  courtiers,  —  the 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  17 

honorary  and  the  salaried  ones,  all  alike 
nobles,  with  the  sword  at  their  side.  The 
first  are  about  twenty  in  number;  their 
duties  are  to  wait  in  the  morning  for  the 
Count's  entrance,  to  be  ready  for  any  ser- 
vice he  may  require,  to  accompany  him 
when  visiting  or  riding,  to  defend  him  in 
case  of  need,  to  give  him  their  voice  at  the 
Diet,  and  to  play  cards  and  amuse  him  and 
his  guests.  This  last  duty  is  best  per- 
formed by  our  Matenko  (Mathias),  the 
fool  or  court  jester,  as  the  other  courtiers 
call  him ;  but  he  does  not  at  all  deserve 
that  sobriquet,  as  his  judgment  is  very 
correct  and  his  repartees  are  very  witty. 
Of  all  the  courtiers  he  is  the  most  privi- 
leged, being  allowed  to  speak  whenever  he 
chooses  and  to  tell  the  truth  frankly. 

To  the  honorary  members  of  our  court 
belong  also  six  girls  of  good  family,  who 
live  on  the  same  floor  with  us  under  the 
superintendence  of  our  Madame,  and  also 
two  dwarfs.  One  of  the  latter  is  about 
forty,  but  of  the  size  of  a  four-year-old 
child ;  he  is  dressed  as  a  Turk.  The  other, 


1 8  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

still  smaller  and  very  graceful  and  pretty, 
is  eighteen  years  old,  and  they  dress  him 
as  a  Cossack.  Sometimes,  for  sport,  my 
honored  Mother  orders  him  to  be  put  on 
the  dinner  table,  and  he  walks  about  among 
the  bottles  and  the  plates  as  easily  as  if  he 
were  in  a  garden. 

The  honorary  courtiers  receive  no  pay, 
almost  all  of  them  being  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  rather  wealthy  parents,  who 
send  them  to  our  castle  for  training  in 
courtly  etiquette.  The  men  receive,  never- 
theless, provision  for  two  horses,  and  two 
florins  l  weekly  for  their  valets.  These  ser- 
vants are  dressed,  some  as  Cossacks,  some  as 
Hungarians,  and  stand  behind  their  masters' 
chairs  at  meals.  There  is  no  special  dinner 
table  for  them,  but  they  must  be  satisfied 
with  what  their  masters  leave  on  their  plates, 
and  you  should  see  how  they  follow  with  a 
covetous  eye  each  morsel  on  its  way  from 
the  plate  to  the  master's  mouth  !  I  do  not 
dare  to  look  at  them,  partly  from  fear  of 
laughing,  and  partly  out  of  pity. 

1  The  Polish  florin  is  worth  twenty  cents. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  19 

The  salaried  courtiers  are  much  more 
numerous.  They  do  not  come  to  our  table, 
except  the  chaplain,  the  physician  and  the 
secretary.  The  marshal  and  the  butler 
walk  around  the  table  watching  if  anything 
is  wanted ;  they  pour  the  wine  into  the 
glasses,  often  replenishing  for  the  guests, 
but  only  on  feast  days  keeping  the  glass 
full  for  the  courtiers.  The  commissary, 
the  treasurer,  the  equerry,  the  gentleman 
usher,  the  masters  of  the  wardrobe,  all  dine 
at  the  marshal's  table.  To  tell  the  truth, 
those  who  sit  at  our  table  have  more  honor 
than  profit,  for  they  do  not  always  have 
the  same  kind  of  food  that  we  have, 
although  it  comes  from  the  same  dish. 
For  instance,  when  the  meats  are  brought 
in,  there  will  be  on  the  dish  game  or  do- 
mestic fowl  on  the  top,  and  plain  roast 
beef,  or  roast  pork,  underneath.  Each 
course  is  brought  on  two  enormous  dishes, 
and  it  seems  almost  impossible  such  heaps 
could  disappear ;  yet  the  last  man  served 
gets  often  but  scanty  bits  of  food,  and 
whether  there  are  four  courses,  as  on 


20  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

week  days,  or  seven,  as  on  Sundays,  or 
twelve,  as  on  festivals,  I  do  not  remember 
having  seen  anything  left  on  our  table. 

The  salaried  courtiers  receive  quite  high 
pay,  from  three  hundred  to  a  thousand 
florins  annually,  also  provender  for  two 
horses  each,  and  the  livery  for  their  valets ; 
but  then  the  Count  expects  them  all  to 
present  themselves  well  dressed.  When 
he  is  especially  pleased  with  one  of  them 
he  rewards  him  generously,  and  every  year 
on  the  Count's  birthday,  rich  presents  in 
dresses  and  money  are  distributed. 

But  this  is  not  our  whole  retinue ;  there 
are  also  the  chamberlains,  —  young  boys 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  of  age,  of  noble 
families,  who  perform  a  kind  of  novitiate  in 
our  service.  Their  duties  are  to  be  always 
in  attendance,  to  accompany  our  carriage  on 
horseback,  and  to  be  ready  for  all  kinds  of 
errands ;  thus  if  my  honored  Parents  have 
letters  to  be  carried  in  haste,  or  presents 
or  invitations  to  be  sent,  they  always  send 
the  chamberlains.  One  of  them,  Michael 
Chronowski,  will  finish  his  novitiate  on 


COUNTESS  KRASrNSKA.  21 

Epiphany,  and  then  will  come  the  cere- 
mony of  liberation,  which  I  shall  describe 
in  its  place. 

As  for  other  people  belonging  to  our 
retinue,  it  would  be  difficult  to  enumerate 
them ;  I  am  sure  I  do  not  know  how 
many  there  are  of  musicians,  cooks,  link- 
boys,  cossacks,  hostlers,  valets,  chamber- 
lains, and  boy  and  girl  servants.  I  know 
only  there  are  five  different  dinner  tables, 
and  two  stewards  are  busy  from  morning 
till  night,  giving  out  the  provisions  for 
the  meals.  Very  often,  especially  when 
fresh  supplies  are  brought  in,  my  honored 
Mother  is  herself  present  in  the  store- 
room; she  also  keeps  the  keys  of  the 
medicine  closet,  where  spices,  dainties,  and 
sweet  liquors  are  kept.  Every  morning 
the  marshal  brings  to  her  the  dinner  and 
supper  menu,  which  she,  with  the  advice 
of  my  honored  Father,  either  changes  or 
approves. 

The  arrangement  of  our  day's  occupa- 
tion is  as  follows :  we  rise  at  six  o'clock 
m  summer,  at  seven  in  winter.  All  four  of 


22  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

us  sleep  in  the  same  room  with  Madame, 
and  each  has  an  iron  bedstead  with 
curtains  around  it.  Basia,  as  the  eldest, 
has  two  pillows  and  a  silk  coverlet;  we, 
the  younger,  have  but  one  pillow  and  a 
woollen  blanket.  Having  said  a  French 
prayer  with  Madame,  we  begin  our  lessons 
at  once.  At  first  the  chaplain  taught  us 
the  catechism,  and  with  our  tutor  we 
learned  how  to  read  and  write  in  Polish ; 
but  now  he  teaches  only  my  two  younger 
sisters,  for  Basia  and  I  study  with  Madame 
only.  We  learn  vocabularies,  dialogues,  and 
anecdotes  by  heart  from  a  text-book.  At 
eight  we  go  downstairs  to  wish  our  honored 
Parents  good-morning  and  to  have  break- 
fast. Then  we  go  to  the  chapel,  where, 
after  the  mass,  the  chaplain  reads  Latin 
prayers,  which  we  all  repeat  after  him 
aloud.  Returning  to  our  room,  we  learn 
German  vocabularies,  we  write  letters  and 
exercises,  and  Madame  dictates  to  us  the 
verses  of  a  French  poet,  Malesherbes.  We 
have  a  spinet  and  are  taught  to  play  upon 
it  by  a  German  teacher,  who  directs  oui 


COU.VTESS  KRASIXSKA.  23 

orchestra ;  for  this  sendee  he  receives  three 
hundred  florins  annually.  We  all  study 
music  and  Basia  plays  not  badly  at  all. 

When  our  lessons  are  over  we  put  on 
wrappers  and  the  coiffeur  comes  to  dress 
our  hair,  beginning  with  the  eldest.  This 
is  a  long  and  often  painful  operation, 
especially  when  he  is  inventing  some  new 
coiffure.  As  my  hair  is  the  thickest  and  the 
longest  (it  drags  on  the  floor  when  I  am 
sitting  before  the  dressing-table),  it  is  on 
my  head  that  he  generally  makes  his  ex- 
periments. It  is  true  that  he  does  make 
very  beautiful  and  wonderful  coiffures ; 
for  instance,  the  one  I  have  to-day,  is  so 
pretty,  having  a  laisscr  aller  effect :  all 
my  hair  is  lifted  up  very  high ;  half  of  it 
is  arranged  in  puffs  on  the  top  of  the  head, 
and  the  other  half  falls  in  loose  curls  on 
the  neck  and  the  shoulders ;  there  must 
have  been  at  least  a  half-pound  of  powder 
used  in  it.  Our  dressing  takes  two  or 
three  hours,  during  which  Madame  reads 
to  us  a  new  French  book,  the  "  Magasin 
des  Enfants"  by  Madame  Beaumont. 


24  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

At  noon,  at  the  Angelus  bell,  we  go 
down  to  dinner,  and  then,  our  honored 
Parents  allow  us  to  remain  with  them  for 
the  rest  of  the  day.  We  sit  generally  two 
hours  at  table ;  after  that  if  the  weather 
is  favorable  we  take  a  walk ;  if  not,  we 
always  have  some  needle-work  on  hand  for 
our  church  in  Piotrowice.  We  sit  at  our 
embroidery  frames  as  long  as  we  can  see, 
and  when  the  lights  are  brought  in,  we 
make  netting  or  do  some  such  light  work. 
There  are  always  many  wax  tapers  burning 
in  silver  candelabra,  and  although  they  are 
rather  yellow,  being  home-made  from  our 
own  wax,  they  give  a  very  bright  light. 

Supper  is  at  seven,  and  afterwards  the 
evening  is  given  to  amusement.  Sometimes 
we  play  cards,  "  Marriage  "  or"  Drujbart," 
and  it  is  such  fun  to  see  the  faces  Matenko 
makes,  according  as  he  gets  a  seven  or  a 
trump  ! 

Once  a  week  a  chamberlain  goes  to 
Warsaw  to  bring  the  newspapers  and  letters, 
and  then  the  chaplain  reads  aloud  the 
"  Gazette  "  and  the  "  Courier."  At  times 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  25 

my  honored  Father  reads  the  old  chronicles 
to  us ;  sometimes  they  are  very  dull,  and 
sometimes  very  interesting.  During  the 
Carnival,  there  is  seldom  any  reading,  but 
there  are  games,  music,  and  dances.  I 
cannot  imagine  how  they  can  amuse  them- 
selves better  at  the  court  in  Warsaw ;  how 
can  it  be  anywhere  gayer  than  in  our 
Maleszow?  Still,  I  should  like  so  much, 
if  only  out  of  curiosity,  to  have  just  a  taste 
of  that  court  life.  But  what  do  I  hear? 
There  is  the  noon  bell !  I  must  say  the 
Angelus  in  haste,  see  if  my  coiffure  is  in 
order,  and  run  downstairs,  leaving  for 
to-morrow  all  that  I  intended  to  write 

to-day. 

Tuesday,  January  2. 

Yesterday,  I  wrote  about  myself  and  my 
home ;  to-day  I  want  to  write  about  my 
country.  I  should  not  be  a  worthy  Pole  if 
I  were  not  interested  in  what  happens  in 
my  own  land.  People  in  our  house  talk 
much  about  Poland,  and  I  have  always 
listened  attentively,  but  much  more  so 
since  I  resolved  to  write  this  journal. 


26  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

Our  present  king  is  Augustus  III.,  Elec- 
tor of  Saxony,  son  and  successor  of  Augus- 
tus II.  On  the  seventeenth  of  this  month, 
it  will  be  twenty-five  years  since  the  Bishop 
of  Cracow  crowned  him  King  of  Poland 
and  Lithuania. *  It  is  said  that  he  was 
rather  indifferent  to  the  Polish  crown,  when 
by  his  father's  death  the  chance  was  opened 
to  him ;  but  he  was  persuaded  to  become  a 
candidate  by  his  wife,  Marie  Josephine, 
daughter  of  the  German  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian. This  royal  lady  was  very  much 
beloved  by  the  Poles  :  she  had  a  very  good 
influence  over  the  king,  her  husband,  and 
never  meddled  with  any  court  intrigues ; 
she  was  charitable,  beneficent,  pious,  a 
good  wife  and  a  good  mother,  and  fully 
deserved  to  be  called  a  model  of  feminine 
virtues.  She  died  in  Dresden  two  years 
ago,  and  I  remember  well  the  great  sorrow 
caused  by  the  news  of  her  death.  In  all 

1  At  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century  these  two 
countries  were  united  by  the  marriage  of  Hedvig, 
queen  of  Poland,  with  the  prince  of  Lithuania 
Jagellon. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  27 

the  churches  there  were  grand  funeral  ser- 
vices, also  in  our  Piotrovvice,  and  all  the 
poor  people  cried  and  lamented,  having 
lost  in  her  a  real  mother.  She  had  four- 
teen children,  of  whom  eleven  are  living : 
four  sons  and  seven  daughters. 

The  king  is  said  to  be  of  a  kindly  but 
rather  weak  character,  and  he  has  the 
greatest  confidence  in  his  minister  Briihl, 
who  in  reality  is  the  ruler  both  of  Poland 
and  Saxony.  It  is  said  affairs  are  going 
all  wrong  in  Saxony,  and  not  much  better 
in  our  country.  I  have  often  heard  people 
say :  "  We  need  a  Frederic  the  Great,  with 
a  strong  head  and  an  iron  will ; "  and  as 
our  king  is  old,  they  are  all  looking  forward 
and  planning  already  for  his  successor. 
There  are  two  prominent  candidates  for 
the  throne  :  one  is  Stanislaus  Poniatowski, 
who  was  educated  in  France,  spent  four 
years  in  Russia  as  the  envoy  of  Poland, 
and  there  became  the  favorite  of  the 
Empress  Catherine  II.  The  other  candi- 
date is  Duke  Charles,  twenty-six  years 
old,  the  most  beloved  of  the  sons  of 


28  THE    JOURNAL   OP 

our  present  king.  People  say  he  has  a 
real  gift  for  attracting  all  hearts  to  him ;  he 
is  very  handsome,  very  stately  in  figure,  and 
very  courteous  in  manner;  and  having 
spent  almost  his  whole  life  in  Poland,  he 
knows  our  language  perfectly.  I  have 
heard  so  much  of  his  good  qualities  that 
my  best  wishes  are  for  him,  although 
Poniatowski  is  my  countryman. 

This  day  will  be  a  memorable  one  for  Duke 
Charles.  A  few  weeks  ago  he  was  elected 
Duke  of  Courland,  which  is  a  tributary  of 
Poland,  and  to-day  occurs  the  "investi- 
ture," that  is,  the  giving  possession.  The 
king  is  so  happy  about  the  good  fortune  of 
his  beloved  son,  that  he  is  said  to  look  ten 
years  younger.  What  festivals  there  will 
be  in  Warsaw !  How  I  should  like  to  be 
there  now,  and  to  see  the  grand  doings, 
but  especially  to  see  the  royal  prince.  We 
shall,  at  least,  drink  his  health  here  and 
cry,  "  Long  life  to  Duke  Charles  ! " 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  2$ 

January  3. 

Yesterday,  just  when  we  were  drinking  to 
the  health  of  the  Duke  of  Courland,  and 
our  band  was  doing  its  best,  and  our  com- 
pany of  dragoons  were  firing  salutes,  —  at 
that  very  moment  the  chamberlain,  who 
had  been  sent  to  Warsaw,  returned  with  the 
news  that  on  account  of  the  indisposition 
of  the  duke,  the  ceremonies  of  the  inves- 
titure had  to  be  postponed.  "  Bad  omen," 
said  Matenko  ;  "  as  the  mitre  slips,  so  the 
crown  will  slip."  I  felt  like  crying,  but 
there  was  no  time  for  that,  as  many  guests 
were  present ;  among  others,  the  Woivode 
of  Craclaw,  Swidinski,  with  his  nephew 
Father  Albert,  a  Jesuit,  whom  my  honored 
Parents  like  and  respect  greatly.  Basia  is 
his  special  favorite ;  he  brought  her  a 
rosary  and  a  prayer  book,  —  "  La  Jounce 
du  Chretien,"  —  and  he  spoke  several  times 
to  her  at  supper.  But  then,  Basia  is  the 
eldest ;  no  wonder  everybody  pays  most 
attention  to  her. 


30  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

Friday^  January  5. 

The  Woivode  and  Father  Albert  are 
still  here,  and  to-day  the  two  sons  of  the 
former  are  expected.  I  am  very  anxious 
to  know  them,  as  they  have  both  been  edu- 
cated in  France,  at  Luneville,  at  the  court 
of  Stanislaus  Leszczynski. 1  This  nobleman, 
although  his  country  has  proved  faithless  to 
him,  tries  to  be  useful  to  it,  and  he  has  al- 
ways some  young  Poles  at  his  court,  where 
they  receive  the  best  education.  The  sons 
of  our  first  families  court  this  great  honor, 
and  there  is  not  a  better  recommendation 
for  a  young  man  than  to  say  of  him : 
"  He  has  been  brought  up  in  the  court  of 
Luneville."  He  is  sure  then  to  be  refined, 
to  speak  French  well,  and  to  dance  the 
minuet  gracefully ;  therefore  all  gentlemen 
brought  up  at  that  court  are  great  favorites 

1  Stanislaus  Leszczynski,  surnamed  the  "most 
virtuous  of  men,"  king  of  Poland  before  Augustus 
II.,  was  dethroned  by  the  Saxon  party.  He  had 
Lorraine  allotted  to  him,  and  is  still  remembered 
there  as  the  "  good  King  Stanislaus."  His  daugh- 
ter Maria  was  married  to  Louis  XV.  of  France. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  3! 

of  the   ladies.     Oh  !  how  curious  I  ara  to 
see  these  two  ! 

Saturday,  January  6. 

They  arrived  yesterday,  but  I  cannot  say 
they  are  quite  as  I  expected,  especially  the 
elder,  the  Staroste  of  Radom.  I  thought  I 
should  see  a  fine  young  cavalier,  like  the 
Prince  Cheri,  so  beautifully  depicted 
by  Madame  de  Beaumont,  but  the  Sta- 
roste is  not  at  all  like  him ;  first,  he  is 
not  very  young,  —  he  is  about  thirty  ;  then 
he  is  rather  stout,  and  therefore,  perhaps, 
he  is  not  fond  of  dancing.  As  to  his  Par- 
isian accent,  I  cannot  judge  about  that,  as 
he  did  not  say  one  French  word,  but  mixes 
his  Polish  and  Latin  quite  as  the  old  gen- 
tlemen do.  His  brother,  who  is  a  colonel 
in  the  king's  army,  pleased  me  a  little 
more ;  he  has,  at  least,  a  fine  uniform. 
To-day,  the  ceremony  of  liberation  of  the 
Chamberlain  Chronowski  will  take  place. 
Besides  that,  as  it  is  customary  on  Epi- 
phany, they  are  baking  an  enormous  cake 
with  an  almond  in  it,  and  whoever  gets  the 
almond  will  be  the  Twelfth  Night  king  or 


32  THE  JOURNAL    OP 

queen.  Oh !  if  it  only  came  to  me  !  A 
crown  would  be  put  on  my  head  and  I 
should  have  all  the  ordering  of  the  dances ; 
then  what  dancing  there  would  be  !  Still, 
I  think,  there  will  be  enough  in  any  case, 
for  many  guests  are  expected.  Our  old 
butler,  Peter,  was  muttering  to  himself  this 
morning  that  around  the  church  in  Piotro- 
wice  there  are  said  to  be  ever  so  many 
coaches  and  curricles.  Poor  man  !  he  is 
expecting  more  work,  so  he  grumbles ; 
but  I  feel  my  heart  jumping,  and  my  feet 
are  dancing  already.  How  often  in  this 
world  the  same  thing  brings  trouble  to  one 
and  joy  to  another  ! 

Sunday,  January  7. 

Well,  yes,  they  did  come,  and  many  of 
them  are  still  here.  Old  Peter  has  two 
wrinkles  more  on  his  forehead,  but  we 
amused  ourselves  royally.  Basia,  not  I, 
was  the  queen,  but  it  was  just  as  well. 
When  at  the  end  of  the  dinner  the  cake 
was  cut,  Basia  glancing  at  her  piece  became 
red  as  a  pink,  and  Madame,  sitting  next  to 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  33 

her,  announced  :  "  Mademoiselle  Basia  has 
the  almond  !  "  Then  all  the  people  cried, 
"  Long  live  the  queen ! "  and  Matenko 
added,  smiling  :  "  The  almond  is  here,  the 
husband  is  near."  Would  it  not  be  nice  to 
have  a  wedding  in  our  house  ! 

Decidedly  I  do  not  like  the  Staroste ; 
he  is  so  grave  !  Yesterday  he  danced  the 
Polonaise  only.  He  never  looks  at  us 
girls,  nor  speaks  a  word  to  one  of  us ;  he 
converses  with  my  honored  Parents  only, 
or  plays  cards,  or  reads  the  "  Gazette  ;  "  so, 
really,  I  cannot  find  him  very  entertaining. 

But  I  am  forgetting  to  speak  about 
Michael  Chronowski's  liberation.  Soon 
after  dinner  we  went  to  the  banquet  hall 
with  our  guests,  and  all  sat  around  in  a  large 
circle,  my  honored  Father  in  the  middle, 
on  a  higher  chair.  The  folding  doors  were 
thrown  open,  and  the  marshal  with  other 
courtiers  led  in  the  young  man,  dressed  no 
more  in  livery,  but  in  a  rich  Polish  cos- 
tume. He  knelt  down  before  the  Count, 
who  gave  him  a  light  blow  on  the  cheek  in 
token  that  he  has  been  novitiate  boy  here, 
3 


34  THE  JOURNAL  OP 

then  a  sword  was  fastened  to  his  side  and 
his  health  was  drunk  hi  a  cup  of  wine. 
The  Count  made  him  a  present  of  a  purse 
filled  with  gold,  and  of  two  horses  which 
were  already  waiting  in  the  courtyard  for 
their  new  master.  Invited  to  remain  here 
as  a  guest  till  the  end  of  the  carnival, 
Chronowski  accepted  the  invitation  with 
gratitude,  and  having  saluted  my  honored 
Parents  and  kissed  the  hands  of  all  the 
ladies,  was  admitted  to  our  society  and 
danced  with  us  the  whole  evening. 

January  8. 

The  prophecy  of  Matenko  proved  true, 
for  Basia  will  be  married  before  the  carni- 
val is  over.  Last  night  the  Staroste  Swi- 
dinski  asked  my  honored  Parents  for  her 
hand  ;  they  sent  for  her  this  morning,  told 
her  about  it,  and  the  betrothal  will  take 
place  to-morrow.  Basia  came  back  in 
tears  to  our  room,  telling  us  that  she 
dreaded  the  marriage,  and  would  always 
regret  her  old  home,  but  that  it  was  not 
possible  to  refuse  such  a  match,  as  bcth 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  35 

our  honored  Parents  wished  it,  and  told 
her  she  would  be  very  happy.  The  Sta- 
roste  is,  they  say,  a  most  honorable  man, 
religious,  and  of  a  kind  disposition;  his 
family  is  also  old  and  very  wealthy.  His 
father  has  allotted  him  a  large  estate, 
"  Sulgostow,"  with  a  beautiful  palace,  and 
the  king  has  given  him  the  appointment  of 
staroste  with  the  expectation  of  being  soon 
named  castellan.  For  a  long  time  the 
Woivode  and  Father  Albert  had  been  plan- 
ning this  marriage,  and  they  came  here  for 
the  purpose  of  effecting  it. 

And  so  we  shall  have  a  wedding  here,  in 
Maleszow  Castle,  on  the  25th  of  February, 
at  the  very  end  of  the  carnival.  Will  there 
not  be  dancing !  Basia  will  become 
Madame  Starostine ;  only,  it  is  a  pity  we 
shall  not  be  allowed  to  call  her  "  Basia  " 
any  more.  I  am  very  sorry  to  have  writ- 
ten about  the  Staroste  as  I  did,  but  then 
it  is  not  I  that  is  to  marry  him,  and  if  he 
pleases  Basia,  that  is  enough.  She  says 
she  has  always  been  afraid  of  young  men, 
she  likes  serious  ones  better ;  and  our  hon- 


36  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

ored  Mother  tells  her  that  those  make  the 
best  husbands.  Perhaps  so,  but  as  for  me 
.  .  .  well,  it  is  of  no  use  to  think  about  it 
at  present. 

Oh  !  but  I  must  not  forget :  the  inves- 
titure of  Duke  Charles  will  certainly  take 
place  in  Warsaw  to-day.  Colonel  Swidin- 
ski,  who  knows  him  personally,  has  not 
words  enough  to  tell  how  charming  he  is. 
I  wonder  if  I  shall  ever  see  him. 

January  10. 

The  betrothal  took  place  yesterday.  In 
the  morning,  when  we  came  down,  my 
honored  Mother  gave  Basia  a  skein  of 
tangled  silk  to  wind. 1  The  poor  girl,  with 
flushing  cheeks,  began  the  task,  not  daring 
to  look  up  from  her  work,  for  she  knew 
that  all  eyes,  especially  those  of  the  Star- 
oste,  were  fixed  upon  her;  and  besides, 
that  mischievous  Matenko  was  teasing  her 
without  end,  making  all  the  people  laugh. 

1  An  old  Polish  custom,  by  which  a  young  girl 
was  to  prove  whether  she  was  patient  enough  to 
meet  the  trials  of  married  life. 


COUtfTESS  KRASINSKA,  37 

After  dinner,  when  she  sat  again  before 
her  winding-frame,  the  Staroste  came  near 
and  asked  in  a  voice  loud  enough  for  all  to 
hear :  "  May  I  believe  that  your  ladyship's 
will  is  favorable  to  my  desires?"  "The 
will  of  my  honored  Parents,"  answered 
Basia,  with  a  trembling  voice,  "  has  ever 
been  a  sacred  law  to  me."  And  that  was 
the  whole  of  the  conversation  between  the 
betrothed. 

When  the  courtiers  had  left  the  room 
and  we  were  alone  with  our  guests,  the 
Woivode  and  Father  Albert  arose,  the 
former  taking  by  the  hand  the  Staroste, 
and  standing  before  my  honored  Parents 
he  thus  addressed  them :  "  For  a  long 
time  my  heart  has  been  filled  with  the 
most  sincere  affection  and  profound  vene- 
ration for  the  illustrious  family  of  Korwin 
Krasinski ;  for  a  long  time  I  have  desired 
fervently  that  my  modest  name  be  united 
with  your  glorious  one,  and  I  cannot 
express  the  great  satisfaction  which  I  feel 
in  knowing  that  your  Grace  is  willing  to 
grant  me  this  favor.  You  have  a  most 


38  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

honorable  daughter,  Barbara ;  I  have  this 
son,  Michael,  who  is  my  comfort  and  my 
pride ;  are  you  willing  to  renew  to-day 
your  promise  to  join  this  young  pair  for 
their  lifetime?  Here  is  the  ring  which  I 
received  on  a  like  occasion  from  my 
honored  Parents,  in  order  to  give  it  to 
my  wife,  who  is,  alas !  no  more  in  this 
world,  but  who  still  lives  in  my  heart.  Will 
you  allow  my  son  to  offer  it  now  to  your 
daughter  as  a  pledge  of  a  closer  tie  ? " 
Saying  this  he  laid  a  costly  diamond  ring 
on  a  little  silver  tray  which  Father  Albert 
was  holding.  The  latter  also  made  a 
speech,  but  he  used  so  many  Latin  words 
that  I  could  not  make  anything  of  it. 

My  honored  Father  rose  and  answered  : 
"  I  repeat  now  what  I  told  you  yesterday, 
that  I  consent  to  the  marriage  of  my 
daughter  with  the  most  honorable  Staroste  ; 
I  give  her  to  him  with  my  sincere  blessing, 
and  I  transfer  to  him  all  my  rights  as  a 
Father."  "  I  do  the  same,  and  with  my 
whole  heart,"  added  my  honored  Mother. 
"  Here  is  a  ring,  the  most  precious  jewel  in 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  39 

my  house ;  my  Father,  the  Woivode  of 
Podole,  received  it  after  his  victory  over 
the  Turks,  from  the  hands  of  our  late  king, 
Augustus  II.  This  was  my  betrothal  ring, 
and  I  give  it  now  to  my  eldest  daughter, 
with  a  Mother's  blessing,  and  with  a  prayer 
to  the  Almighty  that  she  may  be  as  happy 
as  I  have  been."  She  then  placed  on  the 
tray  a  ring  with  a  very  large  diamond, 
which,  being  raised,  disclosed  the  minia- 
ture of  the  late  king. 

"  Basia  !  come  here,  my  girl,"  said  my 
honored  Father.  She  rose  and  advanced, 
but  was  so  confused  and  trembling  that  I 
wonder  how  she  ever  reached  the  spot. 
Father  Albert  blessed  the  rings,  and  gave 
the  first  one  to  the  Staroste,  who,  having 
kissed  my  sister's  hand,  placed  the  ring  on 
her  fourth  finger ;  Basia,  in  her  turn,  gave 
him  the  ring  with  the  portrait,  and  had  her 
hand  kissed  once  more.  Then  the  Staroste 
fell  at  the  feet  of  my  honored  Parents, 
thanking  them,  and  calling  God  to  witness 
that  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  make 
their  daughter  happy ;  in  the  mean  time 


40  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

the  Woivode  kissed  the  trembling  Basia  on 
the  brow,  while  Father  Albert  and  the 
colonel  paid  her  many  fine  compliments. 

At  the  end  my  honored  Father  took  a 
large  cup,  filled  it  with  old  Hungarian  wine, 
and  drank  the  young  couple's  health ;  and 
all  the  gentlemen  did  the  same. 

The  whole  ceremony  was  so  solemn  and 
so  touching  that  I  could  not  keep  back  my 
tears.  "  Do  not  weep,  Frances,"  said 
Matenko,  who  still  remained  in  the  room 
and  for  once  was  serious,  "  do  not  weep ; 
in  less  than  one  year  it  will  be  your  lady- 
ship's turn."  In  one  year?  .  .  .  no,  that 
would  be  too  soon,  but  in  a  few  years, 
perhaps  .  .  . 

Everybody  in  the  house  is  now  paying 
so  much  attention  to  Basia  !  My  honored 
Parents  kissed  her  on  the  cheek  when  she 
wished  them  good-night,  and  all  the  people 
are  congratulating  her  and  recommending 
themselves  to  her,  as  many  wish  that  she 
would  take  them  to  her  new  court. 

My  honored  Father  brought  out  a  bag 
containing  a  thousand  ducats,  which  he 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  41 

gave  my  honored  Mother  for  the  trousseau, 
and  during  several  hours  they  discussed 
together  its  details.  To-morrow  Mile. 
Zawistoska,  a  very  respectable  woman,  who 
has  been  brought  up  in  our  castle  and  will 
be  Basia's  lady's  maid,  is  going  with  the 
commissary  to  Warsaw  to  make  the  neces- 
sary purchases. 

In  our  store-house  there  are  four  big 
trunks  with  silver  plate,  one  for  each  of  us. 
The  Count  ordered  the  one  which  is  de- 
signed for  Basia  to  be  opened ;  examined 
each  piece  himself,  and  those  which  need 
repairs  or  alteration  are  to  be  sent  to 
Warsaw. 

The  letters  to  announce  the  approaching 
marriage  are  already  being  written,  and  the 
chamberlains  will  take  them  to  all  parts  of 
Poland,  to  all  relatives  and  friends,  inviting 
them  to  the  wedding.  But  the  most  stately 
of  our  courtiers,  the  equerry,  will  go  to 
Warsaw  with  letters  to  the  king,  the  royal 
princes,  the  primate,  and  the  chief  sena- 
tors. In  these  missives  the  Count  gives 
notice  of  his  daughter's  intended  marriage, 


42  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

but  sends  no  invitations,  as  the  presence  of 
those  persons  will  depend  upon  their  own 
pleasure.  Oh  !  if  one  of  them,  for  instance 
the  Duke  of  Courland,  should  come  here, 
what  grandeur  would  be  added  to  the  wed- 
ding; but  more  probably  they  will  send 
their  envoys  only,  who,  in  that  case,  re- 
ceive all  the  honors  due  to  those  they 
represent. 

The  Staroste  gave  handsome  tokens  of 
remembrance  to  each  of  us  sisters.  I 
received  a  costly  brooch  with  turquoises ; 
Mary,  a  ruby  cross ;  Kasia,  a  Venetian 
chain.  Also  he  offered  presents  to  my 
honored  Parents,  which  they  deigned  to 
accept,  —  the  Count,  a  golden  cup;  the 
Countess,  a  work-box,  in  which  all  the  imple- 
ments are  of  mother-of-pearl  and  gold.  He 
did  not  forget  even  our  Madame,  who 
found  this  morning  a  lace  shawl  on  her 
bed ;  so  she  also  highly  praises  our  Polish 
generosity. 

Last  night  we  had  a  grand  supper.  The 
music  was  beautiful,  the  dragoons  fired 
salutes,  and  the  captain  gave  to  the  guard 


COUiVTESS  KRAS1NSKA.  43 

for  a  watchword  the   names  Michael  and 
Barbara. 

This  morning  there  was  given  a  great 
hunting-party,  for  Basia's  good  luck,  and 
it  was  unusually  successful ;  they  brought 
home  one  boar,  two  deer,  four  hinds,  and 
many  hares.  The  boar  was  killed  by  the 
Staroste  himself,  who  laid  his  trophy  at 
Basia's  feet.  I  have  learned  to-day  what 
a  brave  man  the  Staroste  is.  My  honored 
Father  ordered  for  the  hunters  all  the 
horses  from  the  stables,  and  among  others 
there  was  one,  a  great  beauty,  but  very 
wild ;  even  the  equerry  does  not  dare  to  ride 
him.  The  Staroste  said,  however,  that  he 
would  try  him,  and  notwithstanding  all  the 
remonstrances,  he  sat  upon  him  with  ease 
and  held  him  with  such  a  clever  and  strong 
hand  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  animal's 
prancing  and  jumping,  he  rode  three  times 
around  the  castle.  It  was  beautiful  to  see. 
Basia  turned  pale  at  first,  but  when  she  saw 
how  he  was  able  to  manage  the  horse,  and 
when  loud  bravos  began  to  resound,  then 
deep  blushes  covered  her  cheeks,  especially 


44  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

when  all  eyes  turned  towards  her.  By  this 
act  the  Staroste  quite  gained  my  favor; 
one  who  is  so  brave  and  so  strong,  can  be 
pardoned  even  if  he  does  not  like  to  dance 
the  minuet.  The  Count  presented  the 
horse  to  his  future  son-in-law,  adding  a  rich 
equipment  and  a  groom  ;  he  deserved  it. 

To-morrow  the  Woivode  and  the  Staroste 
are  going  away,  in  order  to  prepare  the 
Sulgostow  house  for  its  new  mistress. 

Sunday,  January  20. 

During  more  than  a  week  I  have  not 
opened  my  diary,  for  we  are  very  busy. 
The  afternoons  and  evenings  are  spent  with 
our  guests,  and  the  mornings  are  given  to 
work,  as  each  sister  wishes  to  make  some- 
thing with  her  own  hands  for  Basia's  trous- 
seau. I  am  embroidering  a  dishabille  with 
flowers  in  lace-stitch,  and  I  have  to  get  up 
very  early  in  the  morning  and  work  even  by 
candle-light  in  order  to  be  ready  in  season. 
Mary  is  making  a  very  pretty  scarf;  it  will 
have  an  arabesque  embroidered  on  fine 
muslin  in  dark  silks  and  gold ;  Kasia  is 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  45 

knitting  a  cover  for  the  dressing  table ;  so 
all  the  lessons  are  put  aside,  and  even 
Madame  de  Beaumont  is  forgotten. 

From  the  early  morning,  my  honored 
Mother  is  busy,  unlocking  the  trunks,  the 
drawers,  and  the  cupboards,  —  taking  out 
linen,  silks,  furs,  carpets,  rugs,  curtains,  etc. 
She  has  many  things  still  remaining  from 
her  own  trousseau,  and  many  others  bought 
later,  as  during  all  these  years  she  has  been 
gathering  all  kinds  of  beautiful  things  for 
our  marriage  outfits ;  really  they  are  well 
worth  seeing.  Sometimes  she  deigns  to 
call  me  to  assist  her,  and  it  is  quite  touch- 
ing to  see  her  anxiety  to  do  right  by  each 
of  us ;  she  divides  all  these  treasures  in 
four  portions,  and  sometimes  she  even  asks 
my  honored  Father  and  the  chaplain  to 
give  their  opinion  whether  the  shares  are 
quite  of  equal  value. 

A  tailor  and  a  furrier  have  come  from 
Warsaw,  and  there  is  so  much  to  be  done 
that  they  will  not  have  finished  for  a  month. 
Fortunately,  almost  all  the  linen  is  ready, 
our  sewing-girls  having  worked  upon  it  for 


46  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

these  last  two  years,  and  now  they  are  mark- 
ing it  with  blue  cotton. 

Basia  wonders  what  she  will  do  with  all 
the  new  dresses  they  are  making  for  her ; 
until  now  we  had  never  more  than  four  at 
the  same  time,  two  dark  woollen  ones  for 
every  day,  and  two  white  ones,  one  in 
cotton  for  Sundays,  another  in  batiste  for 
great  occasions.  But  my  honored  Mother 
says  that  what  is  good  enough  for  a  young 
girl  would  not  be  proper  for  a  married 
lady. 

Basia  has  wound  the  tangled  silk  with 
such  patience  that,  although  green,  it  has 
not  in  the  least  changed  its  color;  even 
Matenko  acknowledges  that  she  is  fit  to  be 
married.  She  is  now  knitting  from  that 
silk  a  purse  for  the  Staroste  by  my  honored 
Mother's  direction. 

The  equerry  and  the  chamberlain  are 
gone  with  the  invitations.  On  the  8th  of 
January  the  investiture  of  the  royal  prince 
took  place  at  last.  The  night  before,  my 
uncle  the  Prince  Lubomirski,  Woivode  of 
Lublin,  who  is  also  the  marshal  to  the  royal 


COUNTESS  KRASIXSKA.  47 

prince,  gave  a  great  ball;  other  festivals, 
dinners,  and  balls  followed  for  more  than  a 
week.  The  new  duke  made  a  speech  in 
the  Polish  language,  which  pleased  im- 
mensely; he  is  now  treated  quite  as  a 
crowned  prince.  In  the  "  Courier  "  there 
is  a  full  account  of  the  ceremonies.  It 
is  very  interesting ;  I  should  like  to  copy  it 
here,  but  I  have  not  the  time. 

January  25. 

The  Staroste  arrived  last  night,  and  this 
morning  Basia  found  on  her  work-table  two 
large  silver  baskets  with  oranges  and  bon- 
bons, which  she  distributed  among  us  and 
our  court  ladies.  Our  work  is  progress- 
ing rapidly  and  my  neglige  is  half  done. 

Basia  will  be  provided  with  feather-beds 
from  her  own  household,  for  to  each  of 
us  daughters  has  been  allotted  for  many 
years  a  certain  number  of  geese  and  swans. 
There  is  among  the  servants  a  poor,  stupid 
girl  who  is  not  able  to  do  anything  but 
pluck  the  feathers,  and  each  of  us  has  a 
separate  barrel  for  feathers  and  a  bag  for 


48  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

down.  Basia,  -out  of  her  share,  will  have 
two  feather-beds,  eight  big  pillows  filled 
with  goose-down,  and  four  small  ones  of 
swan's-down.  The  pillows  will  be  made 
of  red  silk,  and  the  cases  of  Holland  linen 
lawn  embroidered. 

February  2. 

The  Staroste  stayed  nearly  a  week  and 
departed  yesterday ;  the  next  time  he  will 
not  go  away  alone,  but  Basia  will  go  with 
him.  It  seems  to  me  quite  impossible  that 
she  will  leave  us  and  go- alone  with  a  man  ! 
Basia' s  friendship  and  esteem  for  the 
Staroste  grows  every  day,  although  he 
never  speaks  with  her ;  all  his  conversation 
is  with  my  honored  Parents,  and  all  his  at- 
tentions are  paid  to  them.  They  say  it 
ought  to  be  so  in  an  honorable  courtship, 
for  is  there  a  better  way  of  gaining  the 
heart  of  the  daughter  than  by  pleasing  the 
Parents? 

The  wedding  will  be  in  three  weeks ;  we 
shall  have  new  dresses  as  well  as  the  court 
ladies ;  all  these  will  be  Basia's  gift. 

Many  of  the  invited  guests  have  already 


COUXTESS  KRASINSKA.  49 

replied  that  they  are  coming,  but  the  king 
and  the  royal  princes  will  send  only  their 
envoys.  It  is  doubtful,  also,  if  my  aunt, 
the  Princess  Woivodine  of  Lublin  will  be 
able  to  come,  but  she  is  much  pleased 
with  Basia's  choice,  and  she  wrote  a  beauti- 
ful letter  with  her  blessing,  —  which  made 
my  honored  Father  very  happy. 

I  am  hurrying  with  my  embroidery,  but 
I  must  rise  early  and  work  by  candle-light, 
for  my  honored  Mother  is  so  gracious 
toward  me  that  she  often  wants  my  help 
and  service.  Before  this,  only  Basia,  as 
the  eldest,  was  so  fortunate,  but  now,  my 
honored  Parents  want  me  to  have  some 
practice  in  order  to  take  her  place  when 
the  Staroste  takes  her  away.  Twice  al- 
ready I  have  had  the  key  of  the  medicine 
closet  intrusted  to  me,  and  I  really  think 
since  then  I  have  grown  more  serious. 

February  12. 

The  preparations  for  the  wedding  are 
going  on,  and  our  visitors  begin  to  arrive. 
Almost  all  the  guest-rooms  are  already  oc- 


5O  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

cupied,  and  the  farm-house,  the  parsonage, 
even  the  better  peasant-cottages  will  be 
wanted  for  the  later  comers.  The  cooks 
and  the  confectioners  are  already  prepar- 
ing all  kinds  of  delicacies  and  sweetmeats 
for  the  coming  event. 

To-day  the  beds  have  been  sent  to  Sul- 
gostow  and  two  enormous  chests  with  mat- 
tresses, pillows,  carpets,  curtains,  etc.  The 
bedsteads  are  of  carved  oak  with  blue 
covers,  curtains,  and  canopies  ;  on  the  four 
corners  there  will  be  bunches  of  blue 
and  white  ostrich-feathers.  Almost  every 
moment  Basia  has  good  reason  for  em- 
bracing the  hands  and  the  feet  of  our 
honored  Parents,  they  are  so  generous 
toward  her.  The  Count  is  writing  with 
his  own  hand,  in  a  large  book,  the  contents 
of  the  trousseau,  beginning  with  these 
words :  — 

"  Inventory  of  the  wedding  outfit  which 
I,  Stanislaus  Korwin  Krasinski,  Staroste  of 
Nova  Wies,  etc.,  etc.,  and  Angela,  born 
Humiecka,  my  honored  wife,  are  giving 
to  our  eldest  and  beloved  daughter  Barbara, 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  51 

promised  in  marriage  to  the  honorable 
Michael  Swidinski,  Staroste  of  Radom ;  and 
imploring  for  this  daughter  of  ours  the 
favor  of  Heaven,  we  bestow  upon  her  our 
parental  blessing,  in  nomine  Patri  et 
Filii  et  Spiritu  Sane  to.  Amen."  I  should 
like  to  copy  here  the  whole  inventory,  but 
first,  I  have  no  time,  and  secondly,  I  expect 
to  receive  a  trousseau  like  this  sometime 
myself,  and  what  is  still  better,  such  a 
blessing  of  my  own. 

February  20. 

Three  days  more  and  then  the  wedding. 
The  Staroste  arrived  yesterday;  Basia 
shook  like  a  leaf  when  the  chamberlain 
brought  him  into  the  parlor.  To-day  we 
are  expecting  the  Woivode,  Father  Albert, 
the  colonel  and  the  Woivodine  Granowska, 
sister  of  the  Staroste,  with  her  husband. 
Basia  is  entering  into  a  fine  family,  —  all 
religious  and  worthy  people.  The  trous- 
seau is  quite  finished,  and  what  has  not  al- 
ready been  sent  to  Sulgostow  is  packed  in 
trunks,  of  which  Mademoiselle  Zavistoska 
has  the  keys.  Besides  this  mademoiselle, 


52  THE  JOURNAL  OP 

Basia  will  take  with  her  two  young  girls,  her 
goddaughters,  well  trained  in  all  kinds  of 
needle-work,  and  as  companion,  one  of 
the  six  damsels  who  have  been  brought 
tap  with  us.  When  I  am  married  I  shall 
take  still  more ;  I  have  already  solemnly 
promised  three  girls  that  they  shall  go 
with  me ;  one  of  them  is  the  daughter  of 
our  Peter.  In  his  grateful  joy,  the  old 
man  bowed  to  my  feet,  and  for  the  first 
time  his  forehead  was  free  from  wrinkles. 

Sunday,  February  22. 

The  wedding  will  be  to-morrow.  Our 
guests  are  numberless,  and  all  the  envoys 
are  here.  The  king's  envoy  is  the  Secre- 
tary Borch ;  that  of  the  Duke  of  Courland, 
his  confidant  the  Castellanic 1  Kochanowski, 
a  very  handsome  and  polite  cavalier ;  the 
proverb  is  right :  "  As  the  master,  so  the 
valet."  I  cannot  possibly  describe  all 
the  others ;  they  arrived,  as  if  by  appoint- 
ment, at  the  same  hour  yesterday,  and  their 
entrance  was  quite  imposing.  Before  ever}' 

1  Son  of  a  castellan. 


COUNTESS  KRASWSKA.  53 

one  of  them  our  dragoons  presented  arms, 
while  the  cannons  were  firing  and  the 
music  playing.  The  greatest  honors  were 
shown  to  the  king's  envoy ;  the  Count, 
having  been  informed  of  the  hour  of  his 
arrival,  was  waiting  with  head  uncovered  on 
the  drawbridge,  and  all  our  guests,  cour- 
tiers, and  servants  stood  in  a  double  row 
up  to  the  entrance  door.  As  soon  as  the 
secretary  stepped  on  .  the  bridge  they  all 
shouted  "  Vivat ! "  and  bowed  low  in 
salutation. 

To-day,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
company,  and  before  appointed  witnesses, 
the  marriage  contract  was  written,  but  I 
do  not  know  what  it  contains,  as  I  have 
not  understood  a  single  word  of  it.  I 
know  only  that  the  bride  received  many 
beautiful  presents  :  from  the  Staroste  three 
strings  of  oriental  pearly  ;  from  the  Woivode 
a  rich  diamond  cross  and  an  aigrette  with 
diamond  pendants ;  from  the  colonel  an 
enamelled  watch  and  chain  ;  from  Father 
Albert  many  relics  ;  and  from  each  relative 
a  souvenir.  Basia  can  hardly  believe  that 


54  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

all  these  riches  belong  to  her;  until  now, 
her  only  jewel,  besides  her  betrothal  ring, 
was  a  small  ring  with  the  picture  of  the 
Holy  Virgin  on  it,  and  I  am  sure  Basia 
will  not  discard  her  old  friend  for  all  the 
costly  jewels  which  she  now  receives. 

The  maid  has  just  brought  my  ntglige, 
washed  and  pressed ;  it  looks  very  nice. 
There  are  twenty-five  different  kinds  of  lace- 
stitch  in  it ;  I  am  sure  it  will  be  becoming 
to  Basia. 

Shrove  Tuesday,  February  26. 

All  is  over,  and  as  Matenko  says,  "  with 
a  hundred  horses  one  could  not  catch 
Mademoiselle  Barbara  any  more ;  "  she  is 
Madame  Starostine.  I  have  much  to  tell. 

Yesterday,  very  early  in  the  morning,  we 
rode  to  our  parish  church  in  Lisow,  where 
the  bride  and  the  bridegroom  went  to 
confession  and  to  communion.  As  it  was 
cold  the  bride  wore  a  white  cloak  of  bro- 
cade silk,  lined  with  white  fox  fur,  and  on 
her  head  a  long  lace  veil. 

When  we  returned  breakfast  was  served, 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  55 

and  soon  afterwards  the  dressing  of  the 
bride  commenced ;  twelve  noble  ladies 
headed  by  my  honored  Mother  undertook 
that  important  task.  The  dress  was  of 
white  satin,  with  watered  silk  stripes,  a 
frill  of  Brabant  lace  with  silver  ornaments 
at  the  bottom,  and  a  long  train ;  a  rose- 
mary bouquet  fastened  the  front  of  the 
corsage.  On  her  head  the  bride  wore  a 
rosemary  wreath  held  in  place  by  a  gold 
circlet  on  which  was  engraved  the  date  of 
the  wedding  and  good  wishes  in  rhyme. 
According  to  the  old  Polish  custom,  my 
honored  Mother  fastened  in  the  wreath  a 
ducat  with  the  date  of  Basia's  birth-year, 
and  a  bit  of  bread  for  good  luck ;  she  also 
added  to  the  above  a  lump  of  sugar  in 
order  to  sweeten  the  married  life,  which 
they  say  has  many  difficulties.  No  jewels 
were  allowed,  for  it  is  said  that  for  each 
precious  stone  worn  on  the  wedding  day, 
one  has  to  pay  afterwards  with  a  vial  of 
tears.  As  it  is,  Basia  has  wept  enough,  so 
that  her  eyes  are  red  and  swollen. 

A  little  in  advance,  the  bridesmaids  went 


56  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

downstairs;  we  were  twelve,  all  dressed 
in  white,  and  the  eldest  of  us  was  not 
more  than  eighteen.  The  bridegroom  with 
twelve  groomsmen  met  us  at  the  door  of 
the  parlor,  and  there  we  found  all  the 
guests  assembled.  An  enormous  tray  was 
carried  behind  us,  heaped  with  bouquets  of 
rosemary  and  orange  sprays,  each  tied 
with  a  white  ribbon,  which  were  destined 
for  the  young  ladies  and  bachelors  present 
at  the  wedding.  To  fasten  on  these  bou- 
quets, each  bridesmaid  had  a  certain 
number  of  gold  and  silver  pins,  and  great 
care  was  to  be  used  in  distributing  the 
different  values  according  to  the  rank  of 
each  person.  The  elderly  ladies  have 
been  teaching  us  for  a  long  time  about  the 
method  we  should  follow  in  order  not  to 
cause  offence  by  giving  the  priority  to  per- 
sons of  lesser  rank,  and  we  were  sure  we 
understood  the  lesson  perfectly ;  but  as  soon 
as  we  were  in  the  hall,  everything  was  for- 
gotten. At  first,  we  began  our  task  very 
gravely,  then  we  went  on  with  a  smile,  and 
finally  we  broke  into  laughter ;  many  and 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  57 

many  mistakes  were  committed,  but  all 
were  pardoned,  and  our  gaiety  was  so  con- 
tagious that  soon  the  married  people  and 
even  the  elderly  ladies  and  venerable 
gentleman,  —  none  of  whom  have  any  right 
to  wear  flowers  on  a  wedding  day,  —  all 
wanted  a  bouquet.  The  first  heap  disap- 
peared ;  they  brought  a  second  tray  full, 
and  a  third  one ;  we  had  no  more  gold  or 
silver  pins,  and  had  to  use  the  ordinary 
ones,  but  they  were  received  just  as  well. 
At  the  end  everybody  looked  happy;  all 
had  their  bouquets,  and  the  room  was  like 
a  garden. 

But  no,  I  am  mistaken,  not  everybody 
was  happy,  —  Matenko  stood  sad  in  a  cor- 
ner ;  although  a  bachelor  he  had  received 
no  flowers,  and  he  looked  as  if  he  did  not 
belong  to  the  wedding  party.  I  stepped 
•up  to  him,  and  he  said  in  a  low,  grieved 
voice :  "  I  do  not  wonder  that  the  other 
young  ladies  have  not  thought  of  me,  — 
but  Miss  Frances,  whom  I  have  known  as 
a  baby,  whom,  for  so  many  years,  I  have 
played  with  and  amused,  that  she  should 


58  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

forget  me  !  Well,  I  will  not  come  to  her 
wedding,  even  if  she  marries  a  king's  son  ! " 
I  knew  that  I  blushed  half  pleased,  but 
was  still  more  vexed  at  my  forgetfulness. 

I  ran  to  the  dressing-room,  but  there 
was  not  one  bouquet  left,  for  my  honored 
Mother,  hearing  how  the  flowers  were  being 
appropriated  in  the  hall,  took  the  remain- 
ing ones  for  the  ladies  who  were  dressing 
the  bride  and  for  herself.  The  green- 
houses were  too  far  off  to  send  there,  and 
I  wanted,  at  any  price,  a  bouquet  for  poor 
Matenko.  Suddenly  a  happy  thought  came 
to  my  mind  :  I  caught  a  piece  of  white 
ribbon  and  returning  hastily  to  the  parlor, 
took  off  my  bouquet  and  gave  half  of  it, 
with  the  golden  pin,  to  Matenko.  He  was 
so  pleased  !  "  Franulka,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  you  are  as  kind  as  you  are  handsome  ! 
I  am  sometimes  a  prophet;  remember, 
young  lady,  what  I  have  said  to  you.  .  .  . 
I  shall  keep  these  flowers  till  your  wedding 
day,  and  who  knows  with  what  title  I  shall 
address  you  when  giving  them  back?" 
How  strange  !  Notwithstanding  all  the  dis- 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  59 

tractions  of  the  day,  his  words  are  still 
ringing  in  my  ears ;  and  here  I  am  writing 
about  myself,  when  I  ought  to  think  only 
about  Basia. 

To  return  to  the  wedding :  the  folding 
doors  were  thrown  open  and  Basia  entered 
timidly,  surrounded  by  the  elderly  ladies. 
The  bridegroom  approached  and  took  her 
by  the  hand,  and  the  two  knelt  down 
before  my  honored  Parents,  asking  them 
for  their  blessing;  then  they  went  with 
the  same  request  to  us,  to  all  the  relatives, 
guests,  and  the  whole  household  present, 
and  there  was  not  one  person  who  did  not 
bless  them  with  his  whole  heart  and  with 
tears  in  his  eyes. 

The  chapel  door  opened.  Father  Albert 
put  on  a  lace  surplice,  and  standing  before 
the  altar,  called  upon  us  to  draw  near. 
The  Secretary  Borch  as  the  king's  repre- 
sentative, and  the  Castellanic  Kochanowski, 
led  the  bride ;  Mademoiselle  Malachowska 
and  I,  as  first  bridemaids,  were  directed  to 
lead  the  bridegroom.  All  the  other  people 
went  behind  us,  two  by  two,  in  such  deep 


60  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

silence  that  one  could  hear  the  rustle  of 
the  silk  dresses,  even  the  tinkling  of  the 
diamond  aigrettes  in  the  ladies'  coiffures. 

The  altar  was  glittering  with  lights ;  a 
carpet  woven  with  golden  threads  covered 
the  steps,  and  on  the  highest  were  two 
red  velvet  cushions  with  the  coats  of 
arms  of  the  two  families,  embroidered  in 
gold. 

The  young  pair  knelt  down  ;  the  brides- 
maids were  placed  on  the  right  side  of  the 
altar;  the  groomsmen  on  the  left;  I  held 
a  small  gold  tray  with  the  wedding  rings  on 
it,  my  honored  Parents  stood  behind  Basia, 
the  Woivode  behind  the  Staroste.  The 
castle  band  in  the  choir  played  "  Veni 
Creator,"  after  which  Father  Albert  recited 
an  allocution,  almost  the  whole  in  Latin, 
and  then  he  began  to  read  the  words  of 
the  marriage  vow.  Basia,  although  in  tears, 
repeated  distinctly  enough :  "I,  Barbara, 
take  you,  Michael,  for  my  wedded  husband," 
etc.,  but  the  Staroste  pronounced  the  words 
much  louder.  After  the  rings  were  ex- 
changed the  married  pair  fell  down  at  the 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  6 1 

feet  of  my  honored  Parents  and  the  Woi- 
vode's,  and  were  blessed  again. 

Then  the  marshal  gave  a  sign ;  the  band 
in  the  choir  and  the  Italian  singers  fetched 
from  Warsaw  began  a  triumphal  march, 
accompanied  by  the  discharge  of  cannons 
outside,  and  when  this  was  all  over,  and 
silence  re-established,  the  Count  pro- 
nounced a  fine  and  very  moving  exhorta- 
tion, at  the  end  of  which  Basia  fell  again  at 
his  feet,  sobbing ;  she  tried  to  speak,  but 
not  a  word  could  she  utter. 

After  mutual  embracings,  salutations,  and 
congratulations,  Father  Albert  sprinkled  us 
with  holy  water,  and  presented  a  cross  with 
relics  to  be  kissed.  But  he  made  a  mis- 
take, giving  it  first  to  Madame  the  Castel- 
lan Jordan  before  Madame  Kochanowska, 
mother  of  the  duke's  envoy.  Fortunately, 
my  honored  Mother  noticed  the  error,  and 
begged  the  latter  lady  to  lead  the  bride- 
groom from  the  altar,  and  thus  happily  all 
unpleasantness  was  avoided.  The  bride 
was  attended  by  the  king's  envoy,  and 
again,  two  by  two,  we  returned  from  the 


62  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

chapel.  Soon  afterwards  the  dinner  was 
announced.  The  tables  in  the  banquet- 
hall  were  arranged  so  as  to  form  the  letter 
B ;  in  the  centre  stood  the  result  of  the 
fortnight's  invention  and  labor  of  our 
French  confectioner,  —  an  ell  x-high  pyra- 
mid representing  the  temple  of  Hymen, 
where,  amidst  all  kind  of  ornaments,  alle- 
gorical figures,  and  inscriptions,  were  the 
coats  of  arms  of  the  two  families.  There 
were  also  many  other  devices  on  the 
table,  in  silver  baskets,  vases,  epergnes, 
porcelain  figures,  etc. ;  it  was  so  crowded 
that  our  little  dwarf  could  not  have  easily 
walked  on  the  table  this  time.  It  would 
not  be  possible  to  enumerate  all  the  courses 
of  the  dinner,  and  as  for  the  wine  which 
was  drunk.  I  wonder  if  the  butler  himself 
could  give  an  account.  Besides  other 
wines,  they  drank  at  that  dinner  a  barrel  of 
wine  which  was  called  "Miss  Barbara's 
wine,"  which  the  Count,  according  to  the 
Polish  custom,  brought  from  Hungary  in 

1  Two  feet. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  63 

the  year  of  Basia's  birth,  and  which  had 
been  kept  for  her  wedding  day.  Each  of 
us  has  such  a  barrel.  Then  they  began  the 
toasts  :  first  for  Poland,  then  for  the  young 
pair,  then  for  the  king,  the  Duke  of  Cour- 
land,  the  royal  princes,  the  primate,  the 
master  of  the  house,  the  ladies,  etc.,  each 
accompanied  with  loud  shoutings,  hurrahs, 
breaking  of  the  glasses,  with  the  music  of 
the  band  and  the  firing  of  cannons ;  alto- 
gether there  was  such  a  tumult  that  I 
think  there  will  not  be  a  greater  one  on 
doomsday. 

After  dessert  was  served,  and  we  thought 
it  was  time  to  leave  the  table,  the  Count 
gave  a  sign  to  the  marshal,  who  brought  in 
a  black  leather  box  with  brass  ornaments, 
which  I  had  never  seen  before.  My  hon- 
ored Father  opened  it  and  took  out  a  gol- 
den cup  embossed  with  precious  stones 
and  shaped  like  a  raven;  then  rising,  he 
announced  with  great  solemnity  that  this 
cup  was  a  souvenir  from  the  time  of  the 
Corvins  of  Rome,  and  it  had  not  been 
taken  from  its  box  since  the  day  of  his 


64  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

own  wedding.  The  butler  placed  before 
him  a  bottle  covered  with  mould,  contain- 
ing, as  they  said,  wine  a  hundred  years  old. 
The  Count  poured  out  the  whole  into  the 
cup,  and  lifting  it  cried :  "  Good  luck  to 
the  young  pair !  "  The  hurrahs  began 
anew,  the  music  was  louder  than  ever,  the 
cannons  fired,  every  man  drank  that  toast 
in  one  draught,  and  after  that  we  rose  from 
the  table. 

The  daylight  was  gone  already.  The 
lady-guests  went  to  change  their  dresses, 
but  the  bride  and  the  bridesmaids  remained 
in  the  same  toilets.  About  eight  o'clock 
the  dances  began.  The  bride  opened  the 
ball  with  the  king's  envoy,  and  during  the 
whole  evening  danced  in  the  first  set.  At 
first  there  were  grave  polonaises,  minuets, 
and  contra-dances,  but  by  and  by,  the 
gaiety  increasing,  we  had  the  mazourkas 
and  the  cracoviaks.  The  Castellanic 
Kochanowski  dances  the  cracoviak  like  an 
angel ;  and  according  to  the  custom,  when 
he  was  in  the  first  set  he  sang  impromptu 
verses,  very  witty  and  apropos. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  65 

At  midnight  the  music  stopped  and  the 
"  Cap "  ceremony  began.  A  stool  was 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  the  bride 
sat  down,  and  the  bridesmaids  began  to 
undo  her  hair,  singing  in  plaintive  voices 
the  old  song :  "  Ah  !  we  are  losing  you, 
Basia."  Then  my  honored  Mother  re- 
moved the  rosemary  wreath  and  the  Woivo- 
dine  Malachowska  put  in  its  place  a  big 
lace  cap.  It  seemed  Basia  was  costumed 
for  fun,  and  I  should  have  laughed  had  not 
her  eyes  been  overflowed  with  tears.  The 
cap  is  very  becoming  to  her,  which  they 
say  is  a  sign  that  her  husband  will  love  her 
very  much.  I  am  sure  he  will;  he  could 
not  help  it,  she  is  so  good. 

When  this  ceremony  was  over  the  bride 
was  ordered  to  dance  the  "  drabant  "  with 
the  king's  envoy,  in  honor  of  the  reigning 
family,  who  introduced  that  dance  in  our 
country ;  after  that,  the  music  played  again 
a  very  solemn  polonaise,  and  the  bride 
danced  it  with  all  the  gentlemen  present, 
one  after  another,  beginning  with  the 
Woivode  Swidinski,  and  ending  with  my 
5 


66  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

honored  Father,  who,  having  once  paced 
the  ball-room  with  her,  led  her  to  the 
Staroste  and  gave  her  to  him,  not  only  for 
that  dance,  but  for  her  whole  lifetime. 

This  was  the  end  of  that  night's  enter- 
tainment for  us  girls ;  my  honored  Mother 
ordered  us  to  go  to  bed,  and  the  elder 
ladies  took  the  bride  to  the  apartment  re- 
served for  the  young  couple.  Other  mar- 
ried and  elderly  people  followed  them,  and 
I  was  told  there  were  still  more  speeches 
in  giving  away  the  bride,  returning  of 
thanks  from  the  bridegroom,  new  toasts, 
and  all,  that  lasted  very  late  into  the 
night. 

I  slept  wonderfully  after  all  the  excite- 
ment, and  my  feet  are  so  rested  that  I  am 
quite  ready  for  to-night's  ball.  I  danced 
mostly  with  the  duke's  envoy,  the  Castel- 
lanic  Kochanowski,  who  returned  from 
Luneville  one  year  ago,  and  since  then  has 
been  with  the  duke.  He  speaks  very 
highly  of  his  master;  judging  from  the 
confidant,  the  other  must  be  really  a 
wonder. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  6f 

I  have  not  seen  Basia  yet,  or  rather 
Madame  Starostine,  as  my  honored  Parents 
order  us  to  call  her.  It  seems  so  strange 
not  to  have  her  in  our  room.  I  have  in- 
herited her  bed,  her  work-table,  and  all  the 
rights  of  the  eldest  daughter.  They  will 
call  me  now  "  Mademoiselle  Staroste,"  not 
simply  "  Mademoiselle  Francoise,"  or 
"  Franulka,"  as  they  did  until  now.  It  is 
a  very  little  compensation,  but  still  .  .  . 

We  shall  begin  the  dances  very  early 
to-night,  as  it  is  the  last  Tuesday  before 
Lent,  so  we  have  to  stop  at  midnight. 

Ash  Wednesday,  February  27. 

Ash  Wednesday,  what  a  pity  !  no  more 
dancing  till  next  Carnival.  Our  guests 
begin  to  depart :  the  king's  envoy  is  gone, 
the  young  married  couple  are  going  the 
day  after  to-morrow,  and  we  shall  accom- 
pany them  as  far  as  their  home,  for  the 
house-warming.  The  Staroste  invited  no 
guests  but  his  relations,  as  big  parties  are 
not  proper  in  Lent.  I  am  very  anxious  to 
see  the  new  home  of  my  dearest  sister; 


68  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

I  cannot  get  accustomed  to  call  her 
"  Madame  Starostine,"  but  it  would  not  be 
proper  to  speak  to  her  otherwise,  as  even 
my  honored  Parents  always  call  her  so. 
She  grew  very  grave  from  her  wedding 
day ;  the  cap  she  is  wearing  and  the  robes 
with  long  trains  make  her  look  several 
years  older ;  she  is  sad  and  speaks  very 
little ;  I  am  sure  she  grieves  to  leave  her 
home,  and  to  go  away  with  a  man  whom 
she  knows  so  little.  It  must  be  awful ! 

Saturday,  March  9. 

Last  night  we  returned  from  Sulgostow. 
I  had  a  lovely  time,  but  it  is  a  pity  not  to 
have  Madame  Starostine  back  with  us. 
Last  Friday,  before  we  started,  she  went 
very  early  to  our  parish  church  in  Lisow, 
where  she  hung  the  half  of  a  golden  heart 
as  a  token  that  the  half  of  her  own  heart 
will  remain  here.  When  she  came  back 
home  she  went  around  the  whole  castle,  as 
if  wishing  to  say  good-bye  to  each  corner, 
then  she  took  her  farewell  of  all  the  people 
in  the  household,  and  had  a  kind  word  for 
everybody. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  69 

When  we  were  finishing  a  hasty  break- 
fast, we  heard  loud  crackings  of  the  whip, 
and  a  chamberlain  entered  announcing  that 
everything  was  ready  for  the  journey.  The 
Staroste  looked  at  his  wife,  and  whispered 
that  it  was  time  to  set  out.  She  fell  then, 
sobbing,  at  the  feet  of  my  honored  Parents, 
thanking  them  for  all  their  favors  that  she 
had  received  during  the  eighteen  years  of 
her  life,  asking  their  pardon  for  all  the 
offences  she  might  have  committed,  and 
telling  them  that  she  wished  nothing  more 
than  to  be  henceforth  as  happy  as  she  had 
been.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  saw 
the  Count  crying ;  oh  !  how  they  blessed 
her  !  it  did  one's  heart  good  to  hear  it,  and 
there  was  not  a  person  in  the  room  whose 
eyes  were  dry. 

We  went  to  the  bridge,  but  the  captain 
ordered  it  to  be  lifted,  and  refused  to  let 
the  bride  go  away  until  the  Staroste  gave 
him  a  ring  as  a  token  that  he  would  bring 
her  back  again.  The  carriages  of  the 
Staroste  were  splendid,  —  a  closed  carriage 
painted  yellow,  lined  with  red  damask. 


70  THE  JOURNAL   OP 

with  seats  for  two  persons,  a  landau  with 
four  seats,  a  coach,  and  several  curricles. 
The  horses  were  beautiful,  especially  six 
white  ones  drawing  the  yellow  carriage  in 
which  the  young  couple  were  seated  by 
themselves;  behind  them  came  the  car- 
riages with  the  women,  and  we  came  last. 
Madame  Staroste  sobbed  so  loucl  that  we 
could  hear  her.  Many  courtiers  and  peas- 
ants followed  the  carriage,  crying  and 
blessing  her.  She  gave  them  all  the  money 
she  had  with  her,  and  the  Staroste  threw 
silver  pieces  bountifully. 

At  each  halting- place  where  we  stopped 
everything  was  prepared  for  our  arrival : 
the  floors  were  covered  with  rugs,  the 
tables  laid,  and  the  waiters  dressed  in  liv- 
ery. On  the  following  evening  we  reached 
Sulgostow.  The  Woivode  and  Father 
Albert  started  on  ahead  of  us,  in  order  to 
receive  the  bride  in  her  new  home.  At 
the  frontier  of  the  property  the  peasants 
stopped  the  carriage  of  the  young  pair  and 
offered  bread  and  salt ;  one  of  the  oldest 
men  made  a  speech,  followed  by  loud 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  71 

shouts  of  "  Long  live  ! "  and  when  we 
entered  the  gate  a  company  of  hussars, 
whom  the  Staroste  keeps  in  his  court,  fired 
salutes.  Before  the  entrance  door,  the 
Woivode  stood,  with  the  whole  court,  and 
all  of  them  gave  the  heartiest  welcome  to 
their  new  mistress.  When  we  entered,  the 
Staroste  brought  his  wife  a  big  bundle  of 
keys,  placing  thus  the  whole  house  under 
her  direction.  From  the  following  morn- 
ing Madame  Starostine  took  the  manage- 
ment, and  it  was  really  wonderful  how 
everything  seemed  easy  to  her  and  went 
smoothly;  but,  as  the  eldest  of  us,  she 
was  accustomed  for  many  years  to  assist 
my  honored  Mother  in  her  household 
duties. 

Sulgostow  looks  quite  different  from 
Maleszow.  It  is  a  palace,  not  a  castle,  but 
still  it  is  very  grand  and  gay ;  the  retinue 
is  numerous,  the  house  well  provided,  and, 
what  is  best,  all  the  people  seem  so  very 
happy  to  have  my  sister  there. 

For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  tasted 
coffee  in  Sulgostow.  My  honored  Parents 


72  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

do  not  like  this  fashionable  beverage, 
which  was  introduced  recently  to  Poland  ; 
they  say  that  it  spoils  the  complexion,  so 
it  is  never  served  in  our  house.  But  the 
people  in  Sulgostow  like  it  exceedingly, 
and  the  Staroste  begged  permission  for  me 
to  drink  a  small  cup  of  it. 

It  was  rather  melancholy  to  come  back, 
although  the  Castellanic  Kochanowski,  who 
accompanied  us  on  horseback,  tried  his 
best  to  entertain  me.  The  young  man  has 
been  mvited  to  Sulgostow,  as  a  former 
comrade  of  the  young  Swidinski  at  Lune- 
ville,  but  he  is  much  younger  than  they  are. 
In  society  they  call  him  a  "  charmer," 
and  really  he  deserves  the  title ;  what  then 
must  be  the  duke,  his  master  ! 

I  have  had  no  time  yet  to  look  about 
me  in  Maleszow,  as  we  arrived  late  in  the 
evening,  and  the  first  thing  I  did  to-day 
was  to  begin  to  write,  but  I  am  sure  it  will 
seem  very  sad  here  for  a  time. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  73 

March  12. 

I  guessed  right,  it  is  desolate  without 
my  dearest  sister ;  the  castle  seems  void  as 
if  she  had  taken  away  all  the  life  with  her. 
My  honored  Parents  also  miss  her.  very 
much,  for  she,  as  the  eldest  daughter,  was 
more  with  them,  and  she  was  so  clever ! 
I  try  my  best  to  take  her  place,  but  I  know 
neither  how  to  fill  the  Count's  pipe  as  well 
as  she  did,  nor  to  assort  the  colors  for  my 
honored  Mother's  embroidery.  And  then 
she  was  so  thoughtful,  never  forgetting  any- 
thing, —  just  the  reverse  of  me.  We  talk 
of  her  constantly.  To-day  a  chamberlain 
will  be  sent  to  Sulgostow  with  compliments 
and  inquiries  about  my  dear  sister's  health, 
and  there  was  almost  a  fight  among  the 
young  men,  all  of  them  wanted  so  much 
to  go. 

The  Castellanic  has  departed,  and  for 
the  last  three  days  we  have  had  no  visitors 
but  two  begging  friars  from  a  neighboring 
convent. 

I  have  laughed  but  once.  My  honored 
Mother  had  distributed  all  of  Basia's 


74  THE  JOURNAL   OP 

dresses  among  our  waiting- ladies  and  maids, 
and  last  Sunday,  as  by  a  tacit  understand- 
ing, each  of  them  appeared  wearing  a  part 
of  Basia's  former  attire :  one  had  a  skirt, 
another  a  cape  or  a  waist,  etc.  Matenko 
looked  around  and  sighed  heavily.  "  What 
is  the  matter?  "  we  asked.  "  I  am  grieved,' ' 
he  answered,  "  to  see  the  property  of  the 
late  Miss  Barbara  so  scattered."  We  began 
to  laugh,  but  were  reproved  by  the  Count, 
who  quoted  the  old  proverb :  "  Quiet  at 
table  as  in  church." 

Something  quite  new  and  unexpected 
happened  to  me  yesterday.  When  we 
came  down  at  noon,  I  saw  the  Castellanic 
Kochanowski,  who  was  standing  with  the 
Count  in  a  window's  embrasure,  talking  so 
eagerly  that  he  did  not  see  us  entering.  I 
could  not  hear  their  conversation,  but  my 
ear  caught  the  last  words,  spoken  with 
some  emphasis  by  my  honored  Parent : 
"  Yes,  sir,  you  will  soon  hear  about  the  final 
resolution."  Having  said  this  he  whispered 
a  word  to  my  honored  Mother,  who  made 
a  sign  to  the  marshal  and  gave  him  a 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  75 

secret  order.  The  dinner  was  served,  the 
Castellanic  sat  opposite  to  me,  and  then  I 
observed  how  elegantly  he  was  dressed,  — 
a  velvet  coat  all  embroidered,  a  white  satin 
waistcoat,  lace  frills  at  his  shirt,  lace 
ruffles,  and  a  coiffure  as  fresh  as  from  a 
bandbox.  He  never  was  so  lively  and 
brilliant,  and  he  mixed  such  beautiful 
French  with  his  Polish,  and  looked  really 
charming.  The  dinner  was  longer  than 
usual ;  we  waited  a  while  for  the  roast,  and 
when  they  brought  it  in,  I  saw  my  Cas- 
tellanic changing  his  color  and  growing 
pale.  I  looked  at  the  dishes ;  I  saw  a  goose 
with  black  gravy, l  and  then  I  guessed  all. 

I  did  not  dare  to  lift  my  eyes;  queer 
thoughts  were  whirling  in  my  head.  I  re- 
membered the  lively  cracoviaks  and  graceful 

1  It  was  a  generally  observed  custom  to  serve 
a  goose  with  dark  gravy  as  a  polite  but  posi- 
tive answer  that  the  proposal  of  marriage  was 
not  accepted.  A  pumpkin  put  in  the  carriage 
of  the  young  man  when  he  was  leaving  had 
the  same  meaning.  Until  now  the  saying 
"  He  received  a  pumpkin,"  or  "  He  was  treated 
to  a  goose  fricassee,"  is  often  used. 


•j6  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

minuets,  the  elegant  seat  on  horseback,  the 
fine  French  conversation,  the  beautiful 
compliments,  and  I  felt  a  pang  in  my 
heart.  I  had  not  the  courage  to  touch  the 
dish ;  my  honored  Parents  refused  it  also, 
and  but  for  the  end  of  the  table  the  dishes 
would  have  been  untouched.  Matenko 
was  the  first  to  help  himself,  and  looking  at 
his  plate  said  aloud  :  "  Well,  it  is  rather  a 
hard  morsel,  but  still,  it  will  be  digested." 
I  thought  that  was  disagreeable  of  him. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  we  stayed  ages  at 
table.  Finally  the  Count  gave  the  sign  to 
rise,  and  as  we  were  saying  our  "  benedic- 
ite  "  I  saw  the  Castellanic  stealing  away, 
and  he  did  not  appear  again. 

When  the  courtiers  had  withdrawn,  my 
honored  Parents  called  me  from  my  work, 
and  the  Count  spoke  thus  :  "  Mademoiselle, 
to-day  the  Castelianic  Kochanowski  asked 
for  your  hand.  Although  his  lineage  is 
noble  and  ancient,  and  his  fortune  con- 
siderable, nevertheless  we  did  not  think  it 
was  a  suitable  match.  First,  the  Castellanic 
is  very  young;  he  has  no  position  of  his 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  77 

own,  and  is  called  only  by  the  title  of  his 
deceased  father ;  secondly,  he  did  not  set 
about  the  matter  in  the  proper  way.  He 
asked  no  notable  person  to  speak  for  him, 
—  he  came  by  himself,  made  his  declara- 
tion at  once,  and  wanted  an  immediate 
reply,  which  he  received  unreservedly.  We 
do  not  doubt,  Frances,  that  you  are  of  the 
same  opinion."  Having  said  this,  with- 
out waiting  for  my  answer,  he  bade  me 
return  to  my  work. 

Well,  thinking  it  over,  certainly  I  am  of 
the  same  opinion  as  my  honored  Parents, 
as  well  by  duty  as  by  my  own  conviction ; 
but  to  be  quite  sincere,  I  do  not  find  fault 
with  the  Castellanic  because  he  is  young 
and  spoke  for  himself,  but  because  he  is 
nothing  by  himself.  A  "  castellanic  "  ? 
that  is  not  enough  for  me,  and  I  do  not 
think  a  castellan  would  be  too  much.  In 
any  case,  I  have  not  the  slightest  desire  to 
be  married  yet,  I  am  happy  as  I  am ;  for 
several  days  after  our  return  from  Sulgostow 
I  felt  rather  sad,  but  now  I  feel  merry 
again  and  life  is  before  me.  Marriage  puts 


78  THE  JOURNAL   OP 

an  end  *  to  all  expectations ;  a  married 
woman  knows  who  she  is  and  who  she  shall 
be  until  her  death,  and  I  like  so  much  to 
dream !  When  I  sit  at  my  embroidery 
frame,  or  at  my  netting,  my  thoughts  are 
always  travelling  far  and  fast ;  all  the  things 
I  have  ever  read  come  back  to  my  mind ; 
I  share  the  fate  of  all  the  heroines  of 
Madame  de  Beaumont,  Madame  de  La 
Fayette,  and  Mademoiselle  de  Scude"ry ;  and 
it  seems  to  me  that  I  am  destined  to  adven- 
tures similar  to  theirs.  Basia  often  scolded 
me  for  these  fancies,  but  her  habits  of 
thought  were  quite  different  from  mine. 
She  often  told  me  that  she  never  brooded 
over  her  future,  and  never  thought  of  the 
husband  to  come,  except  at  her  prayers,  — 
for  it  must  be  said  that  with  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  year,  by  the  direction  of 
our  honored  Mother,  we  have  to  add  to  our 
every-day  prayer  the  request  for  a  "good 
husband."  Basia  thought  it  was  a  very 
right  thing  to  ask  God  that  the  one  who  is 
to  take  the  place  of  our  Father  and  Mother, 
and  with  whom  we  have  to  live  till  our 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  79 

death,  should  be  good,  but  it  never  occurred 
to  her  to  wonder  what  he  would  be,  and 
where  and  when  she  should  meet  him.  She 
always  said  :  "  There  will  be  time  enough  to 
think  of  him  when  he  comes."  And  she  was 
right ;  she  got  such  a  good  and  sensible 
man.  She  wrote  to  my  honored  Parents 
that,  but  for  being  homesick  for  Maleszow, 
she  would  be  the  happiest  woman  in  this 
world.  One  can  see  that  she  loves  the 
Starcste  more  and  more,  and  that  she  is 
quite  satisfied  with  her  lot.  Who  knows? 
perhaps  I  should  also  be  happy  in  such  a 
position.  In  any  case,  my  honored 
Parents  were  right  in  refusing  the  Castel- 
lanic ;  I  am  very  sorry  that  the  poor  fellow 
has  been  disappointed,  but  I  hope  that,  as 
Matenko  says,  he  will  digest  the  hard 
morsel. 

Sunday,  March  17. 

Yesterday,  when  we  were  just  going  to 
supper,  there  arrived  quite  unexpected  but 
very  agreeable  guests  :  my  aunt  the  Prin- 
cess Woivodine  of  Lublin  and  her  husband. 
They  could  not  corqe  to  the  wedding,  for 


So  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

the  Woivode,  being  the  Duke  of  Courland's 
marshal,  was  obliged  to  remain  in  Warsaw ; 
but  as  the  duke  is  now  away,  they  came 
here  to  offer  their  congratulations.  The 
arrival  of  such  eminent  guests  gave  new 
life  to  our  castle.  The  Count  is  overjoyed  ; 
he  loves  and  worships  his  sister.  They 
have  not  been  here  for  five  years ;  in  the 
mean  time  I  have  grown  from  a  child  to  a 
young  lady,  and  they  were  very  much 
astonished  at  the  change.  Really,  they 
spoke  so  much  about  my  comeliness  that  I 
felt  quite  shy  and  uncomfortable.  The 
Prince  Woivode  said  quite  seriously  that,  if 
I  appeared  in  Warsaw,  I  should  eclipse 
Mademoiselle  Wessel,  Madame  Potocka, 
and  the  Princess  Sapieha,  —  the  three  belles 
of  Warsaw.  The  princess  said  that  I 
need  only  hold  myself  more  erect,  to  be 
more  dignified,  and  to  have  more  worldly 
polish,  and  then  I  should  be  perfect.  Never 
in  my  life  have  I  heard  such  compliments, 
and  I  was  never  aware  that  I  was  so 
handsome.  I  observed  how  my  honored 
Father's  countenance  brightened  at  hear- 


COUNTESS  KKASINSKA.  8 1 

ing  these  praises,  but  as  for  my  gracious 
Mother,  she  called  me  this  morning  to  her 
room  and  admonished  me  severely  not  to 
give  credit  to  all  these  fine  words,  which 
she  said  were  only  court  civility. 

I  am  sure  they  are  making  plans  for  me. 
I  should  like  so  much  to  know  about  it.  I 
was  so  excited  that  I  could  not  sleep  well 
last  night,  dreaming  most  extraordinary 
things.  It  is  true  that  I  heard  many  curi- 
ous and  amusing  things  which  the  prince 
and  his  wife  related.  My  honored  Parents 
wanted  me  to  leave  the  room  with  my 
sisters  as  usual  at  nine,  but  the  Prince 
Woivode  pleaded  for  me  to  stay  till  the 
end  of  the  evening ;  thus  I  heard  all  about 
Warsaw,  the  court,  the  balls,  and  the  festi- 
vals attending  the  investiture  of  the  duke, 
and  many  praises  of  this  prince,  who  I  hope 
will  one  day  be  the  King  of  Poland.  I 
felt  happy ;  he  is  my  hero,  and  I  am  sure 
he  will  be  a  great  man.  Shall  I  ever  meet 
him? 


82  THE   JOURNAL   OP 

Tuesday,  March  19. 

The  Prince  Woivode  and  his  wife  de- 
parted half  an  hour  ago.  They  wanted  to 
set  out  yesterday,  but  the  Count  ordered 
the  wheels  to  be  taken  from  their  carriages, 
and  persuaded  them  that  it  was  not  safe 
to  begin  a  journey  on  Monday,  which  is 
known  as  an  unlucky  day.  During  the 
whole  time  they  were  very  gracious  to  me, 
and  advised  my  honored  Parents  to  send 
me  to  a  boarding-school  in  Warsaw,  in 
order  to  finish  my  education.  For  some 
time  a  French  lady,  Madame  Strumle,  has 
conducted  a  school  for  young  ladies  in 
Warsaw ;  before  this  they  were  educated  in 
convents  only.  This  school  has  a  great 
reputation.  The  daughters  of  the  first 
families  are  sent  there  to  study  and  to  be 
taught  good  manners,  and  the  Prince  Woi- 
vode thinks  I  should  there  acquire  all  the 
accomplishments  which  I  lack.  But  my 
honored  Parents  prefer  the  Ladies  of  the 
Visitation,  and  certainly  a  convent  is  the 
most  proper  place.  Well,  I  do  not  know 
how  all  this  will  end,  but  I  feel  uneasy  and 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  83 

absent-minded ;  I  do  not  understand  what 
I  am  reading ;  my  work  is  not  so  well  done 
as  before ;  I  feel  as  if  something  extraordi- 
nary were  going  to  happen. 

Sunday,  March  24. 

We  are  going  to  Warsaw  !  We  are  go- 
ing the  day  after  to-morrow.  I  do  not 
know  yet  where  I  shall  be  placed,  but,  in 
any  case  I  shall  not  come  back  soon,  as  my 
gracious  Mother  ordered  all  my  clothes  to 
be  packed,  and  two  of  her  dresses  were 
made  over  for  me.  My  honored  Parents 
were  unexpectedly  called  to  Warsaw  on  busi- 
ness about  an  inheritance  from  our  cousin 
Vincent  Krasinski,  who  died  childless  and 
left  a  great  fortune.  They  take  me  with 
them  and  I  feel  so  very  happy  !  As  we 
have  to  stop  at  Sulgostow,  I  shall  see  my 
dearest  sister.  She  has  just  returned  from 
a  very  agreeable  trip,  having  visited  with 
the  Staroste  all  his  relations,  friends,  and 
neighbors ;  she  was  welcomed  and  admired 
everywhere.  Now  she  will  stay  at  home, 
and  is  very  much  pleased  with  that  pros- 


84  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

pect.  She  is  going  to  be  a  perfect  house- 
keeper; the  old  Woivode  Swidinski  wrote 
about  her  with  such  enthusiasm  and  grati- 
tude that  both  my  honored  Parents  cried 
with  pleasure  over  the.  letter.  Such  tears 
are  a  blessing  ! 

WARSAW,  Sunday,  April  7. 

I  can  hardly  believe  that  I  am  in  that 
celebrated  school  of  Madame  Strumle;  I 
entered  it  yesterday.  It  was  not  very  hard 
work  to  persuade  my  honored  Father  to 
abandon  the  prospect  of  a  convent  for  me, 
as  he  relies  much  on  the  Princess  Woivo- 
dine's  judgment,  and  I  must  say  I  am  glad 
of  it,  as,  in  the  secret  of  my  heart,  I  did  not 
care  much  for  the  convent. 

On  our  way  to  Warsaw  we  stopped  at 
Sulgostow.  Madame  Starostine  looks  gay 
and  happy,  and  how  she  welcomed  us ! 
She  remembered  everything  my  honored 
Parents  liked  ;  all  their  favorite  dishes  and 
delicacies  were  prepared ;  everything  ap- 
peared to  be  there  for  their  own  pleasure  ; 
and  she  seemed  so  happy  to  serve  them  in 
her  own  house !  I  heard  my  honored 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  85 

Mother  saying  to  the  Staroste  that  the  mar-  • 
riage  made  Basia  better  than  ever.  "  No," 
he  answered,  "  such  she  was  from  the  begin- 
ning when  I  received  her  from  your  hands. 
God  bless  her  !  "  One  can  see  how  dearly 
he  loves  her;  and  she  respects  him  and 
obeys  him  as  if  he  were  her  Father.  She 
manages  her  house  perfectly,  and  knows 
how  to  receive  guests,  and  what  to  say  to 
everybody ;  she  is  quite  an  accomplished 
woman.  My  honored  Parents  were  not 
very  willing  to  go  away  from  Sulgostow,  but  I 
must  confess  I  was  very  anxious  to  get  to 
Warsaw,  and  I  welcomed  the  letters  which 
made  us  proceed  on  our  journey.  I  was 
right  to  be  anxious  about  my  coming  here, 
for  here  I  shall  become  an  accomplished 
woman.  I  want  to  be  distinguished.  There- 
fore I  will  not  lose  one  moment,  and  hence- 
forth I  will  not  think  of  the  future  or  dream 
of  it,  but  will  study  hard  and  learn  all  that 
I  can. 

Yesterday  my  honored  Mother  took  me 
to  the  Cathedral,  where  I  went  to  confession 
and  communion,  and  prayed  that  the 


86  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

knowledge  that  I  shall  get  here  may  do  me 
good  and  honor. 

When  I  feel  a  little  more  at  home  here 
I  will  write  about  everything.  Now  I  am 
bewildered.  I  was  accustomed  to  see 
around  me  well-known  faces  and  rooms,  but 
here  I  know  nobody ;  everything  seems 
strange. 

Friday,  April  12. 

I  am  getting  acquainted  with  my  new 
home.  I  like  Madame  Strumle  very  much. 
She  is  a  very  dignified  lady,  and  very 
gracious  to  me.  Certainly  it  is  not  as 
grand  and  lively  here  as  in  Maleszow,  but 
still  it  is  comfortable  and  even  gay.  Some 
things  seem  to  me  strange,  but  amusing 
and  quite  new.  For  instance,  there  are  no 
valets,  not  one  man-servant  in  the  house ; 
dinner  is  brought  and  served  by  women  ! 
We  are  abour  twenty  young  girls,  all  from 
the  best  families  and  all  very  young.  My 
honored  Parents,  after  having  visited  the 
school,  were  well  satisfied  that  young  girls 
could  not  be  better  cared  for  and  in- 
structed in  a  convent.  Madame  carries 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  8j 

the  key  of  the  entrance  door  in  her  own 
pocket ;  nobody  can  come  in  or  go  out 
without  her  knowledge,  and  but  for  the 
few  old  teachers,  one  could  forget  how  the 
face  of  a  man  looks.  No  male  cousins, 
not  even  brothers,  are  allowed  to  pay  their 
visits.  Once  the  dancing  teacher  asked 
leave  for  the  young  Potockis,  who  are  at 
the  Jesuit  college,  to  come  here  and 
practise  the  contra-dances  with  their  sisters, 
but  Madame  Strumle  would  not  hear  of 
it.  "Those  gentlemen,"  she  said,  "are  the 
brothers  of  two  of  my  pupils,  but  not  of 
the  others,  so  I  cannot  allow  them  to 
come." 

I  have  a  teacher  for  the  French  language, 
another  for  German,  others  for  dancing, 
drawing,  artistic  embroidery,  and  music. 
There  is  a  beautiful  harpsichord;  not  a 
spinet  as  in  Maleszow.  —  it  has  five  and  a 
half  octaves.  Some  of  the  young  ladies 
can  play  polonaises,  not  only  by  ear  but 
from  a  music-book.  The  teacher  assures 
me  that  in  less  than  six  months  I  shall  be 
able  to  do  as  well,  —  it  is  true  that  I  had 


88  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

a  little  instruction  in  Maleszow.  I  am  now 
only  drawing  some  small  patterns  for  em- 
broideries, but  before  the  end  of  my  edur 
cation,  I  must  learn  enough  to  be  able  to 
paint  with  colors  a  dead  tree,  on  one 
branch  of  which  is  a  wreath  of  flowers  with 
the  initials  of  my  honored  Parents,  to  whom 
I  shall  offer  my  work  as  a  token  of  grati- 
tude for  the  education  I  have  received. 
The  young  Princess  Sapieha,  who  has  been 
here  for  one  year,  is  just  painting  such  a 
tree,  and  I  feel  quite  jealous  of  her  skill 
whenever  I  look  at  her  work.  What  a  fine 
effect  mine  will  have  when  hung  in  our 
parlor  hall ! 

The  dancing-master,  besides  the  minuets 
and  contra- dances,  is  showing  us  how  to 
walk  and  to  courtesy;  until  now  I  knew 
only  one  way  of  courtesying,  but  I  hear 
there  are  several  varieties,  —  one  before  the 
king ;  another  before  the  royal  princes,  still 
another  for  other  dignitaries  or  their  wives. 

I  asked  to  be  taught  first  the  courtesy 
for  the  duke :  some  day,  perhaps,  I  shall 
salute  my  hero. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  89 

My  gracious  Mother  came  once  to  see 
me.  They  are  having  much  trouble  with 
the  affairs  of  the  inheritance. 

The  lessons  and  studies  take  all  my  time 
from  morning  till  night,  but  I  do  not  com- 
plain, for  I  want  to  learn  much.  I  must 
say  that  on  the  first  days  I  felt  a  little 
bewildered ;  the  incessant  scoldings  and 
admonitions,  the  iron  cross  which  was 
put  on  my  back  to  hold  me  erect,  the 
machine  in  which  we  have  to  stand  for  an 
hour,  in  order  to  make  our  feet  straight,  — 
all  this  was  not  quite  to  my  taste. 

After  Basia's  departure,  I  grew  to  be 
quite  a  young  lady;  the  proposal  of  the 
Castellanic,  the  compliments  and  the  whis- 
perings of  the  Prince  Woivode  made 
my  thoughts  travel  far  away,  —  I  began  to 
think  I  was  quite  a  personage ;  but  here 
I  am  again  treated  like  a  child.  Madame 
Strumle  even  ordered  me  to  stop  the 
prayer  for  obtaining  a  good  husband, 
and  to  ask  for  good  knowledge  instead. 
Really,  one  cannot  think  of  anything  else 
here. 


90  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

Sunday,  April  28. 

I  have  not  opened  my  journal  for  two 
weeks,  but  the  days  are  going  on  each  so 
like  the  others  that  I  have  nothing  to 
relate,  and  I  am  thinking  now  what  I  shall 
write  down  to-day.  My  honored  Parents 
will  leave  soon.  The  Princess  Woivodine 
deigned  to  pay  me  a  visit,  and  found  that  I 
stood  straighter ;  Madame  is  very  kind,  my 
comrades  very  agreeable ;  that  is  all  I  know. 
Really,  I  hardly  believe  I  am  in  Warsaw,  for 
I  know  much  less  about  public  affairs  than 
I  knew  in  Maleszow,  and  I  see  none  of  the 
grand  persons  whom  I  sometimes  met  there. 
My  eyes  have  not  once  beheld  the  king. 
The  duke  is  away,  and  they  do  not  expect 
him  back  soon. 

Sunday,  June  9. 

If  I  were  to  pass  my  whole  life  in 
school,  my  journal  would  soon  be  ended. 
There  is  nothing  to  write  about ;  and  it  is 
a  pity,  for  I  may  forget  the  Polish  language. 
I  never  use  it  but  when  writing  my  diary 
or  letters  to  my  honored  Parents  or  talking 
to  my  little  maid ;  on  all  other  occasions 
I  use  French. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA. 


91 


They  say  that  I  have  made  great  pro- 
gress in  my  studies,  and  the  Princess  Woivo- 
dine,  who  has  not  seen  me  for  one  month, 
finds  that  I  have  grown  much  and  that  I 
have  now  a  very  good  carriage.  Really, 
I  am  the  tallest  of  all  the  girls  in  the 
school,  and  my  waistband  does  not  meas- 
ure quite  an  ell. 

Now  when  the  weather  is  so  beautiful, 
the  sky  so  blue  and  the  trees  green,  I  feel 
often  a  kind  of  sadness  coming  over  me. 
I  wish  I  were  a  bird  !  I  would  then 
spread  my  wings  and  fly  away,  far  away 
from  the  cage.  But  there  is  no  help  for 
it ;  I  must  stay  here  on  Bednarska  Street, 
the  ugliest  in  all  Warsaw,  they  say.  But 
next  year,  if  God  grants  me  life,  things 
will  be  different. 

Friday,  July  26. 

I  see  that  when  one  is  busy  the  days 
pass  quickly,  even  in  school.  I  could  not 
believe  my  eyes  when  looking  now  in  the 
calendar,  in  order  to  put  the  date  in  my 
journal,  I  found  out  that  for  seven  weeks  I 
had  not  opened  my  book.  But  this  day 


92  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

will  be  forever  memorable  to  me :  I  re- 
ceived this  morning,  for  the  first  time  in 
my  life,  a  letter  addressed  directly  to  me. 
The  dearest  and  kindest  Madame  Staros- 
tine  gave  me  that  surprise,  and  wrote  my 
full  name  on  the  envelope.  So  now  they 
know  at  the  Post-office  that  there  is  a 
"  Mile,  la  Comtesse  Francoise  Krasinska  " 
in  Warsaw.  I  felt  like  dancing  for  joy 
when  I  received  that  letter,  and  I  will  keep  it 
with  its  envelope  as  an  eternal  souvenir. 

Madame  Starostine  is  in  good  health, 
very  happy,  and  so  gracious  as  to  send  me 
out  of  the  income  from  the  garden,  which 
the  Staroste  leaves  to  her  own  disposal, 
four  golden  ducats  with  which  I  may  do 
just  as  I  please.  It  is  the  first  money  I 
have  ever  owned,  and  it  seems  to  me  that 
I  could  buy  all  Warsaw  with  it.  I  have 
been  planning  ever  so  many  ways  to  spend 
it :  first,  I  wished  to  give  a  golden  ring  as 
a  keepsake  to  each  of  the  young  ladies, 
my  school-mates,  but  Madame  told  me 
that  I  had  just  money  enough  to  buy  four 
rings  and  no  more.  Then  I  wanted  to  get 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA. 


93 


for  Madame  a  mantle  in  blond  lace,  and 
again  I  was  told  that  it  would  cost  fifty 
ducats  at  least.  Finally  I  decided  thus : 
I  shall  send  one  ducat  to  the  Cathedral, 
in  order  to  have  a  Mass  said  before  the 
miraculous  image  of  Christ,  with  the  de- 
sire that  the  affairs  of  my  honored  Par- 
ents turn  out  according  to  their  wishes, 
and  also  that  Madame  Starostine  be  always 
as  happy  as  she  is  now.  The  second 
ducat  I  shall  change  into  small  coin  and 
distribute  among  the  house  servants ;  and 
with  the  other  two  ducats  I  shall  give  a 
little  banquet  next  Sunday.  There  will  be 
ices,  cake,  also  coffee  which  we  never 
taste  here.  Madame  has  already  given 
me  permission  to  use  my  money  in  that 
way,  but  the  young  ladies  know  nothing 
about  the  surprise.  May  the  Lord  grant 
his  best  benediction  on  Madame  Starostine 
for  the  great  pleasure  she  has  given  me. 

My  education  is  progressing  rapidly.  I 
am  playing  several  quadrilles  and  minuets 
from  a  book.  In  a  few  weeks  I  shall  begin 
to  paint  the  dead  tree  with  the  garland, 


94  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

and  I  am  also  embroidering,  in  cross-stitch, 
a  hunter  with  his  gun  and  a  dog.  I  read 
much,  and  write  from  dictation,  or  copy 
whole  pages  from  French  books,  and  I 
begin  to  talk  in  French  more  easily  than  in 
Polish.  As  for  dancing,  the  teacher  says 
that  there  is  not  in  Warsaw  a  better  dancer 
than  I ;  but  perhaps  he  flatters  me. 

Sometimes  I  go  to  see  the  Prince  Woi- 
vode  and  the  princess,  but  only  in  the 
morning  when  they  are  alone.  I  always 
hear  very  agreeable  things  about  myself, 
especially  from  the  Prince  Woivode,  who 
wishes  me  out  of  school ;  but  the  princess 
and  also  my  honored  Parents  say  that  I 
must  wait  until  winter.  Alas  !  it  is  only 
July.  Will  that  winter  ever  come? 

Tuesday,  December  24. 

Winter  has  come  and  the  moment  for 
leaving  school  is  near.  What  a  different 
kind  of  life  I  shall  soon  begin  !  Only  God 
knows  when  I  shall  return  to  Maleszow,  for 
the  Prince  Woivode  and  the  princess  gra- 
ciously urged  my  honored  Parents  to  let 


COUNTESS  KKASIXSKA.  95 

them  keep  me  for  the  winter  and  bring 
me  out  in  society.  The  permission  was 
granted  and  so  I  shall  stay  in  Warsaw.  I 
am  rather  sorry  to  leave  Madame  Strumle 
and  the  young  ladies,  but  the  joy  of  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  that  world  of  which  I 
have  so  often  heard  and  dreamt,  is  still 
stronger  than  my  regrets.  I  shall  soon 
see  the  king  and  the  royal  princes,  as  I 
shall  be  presented  at  court;  the  Duke  of 
Courland  is  expected  soon. 

Saturday,  December  28. 

This  day  begins  a  new  life  for  me.  In 
the  morning  the  Princess  Woivodine  came 
to  take  me  away,  and  in  her  presence  I 
said  good-bye  to  Madame  Strumle  and  my 
school-mates.  I  could  not  help  crying, 
although  I  have  been  wishing  so  long  for 
that  moment.  On  our  way  we  stopped  at 
church,  but  I  could  not  pray ;  my  thoughts 
were  too  wandering. 

I  am  settled  now.  My  relations  live  on 
the  street  called  the  "  Faubourg  de  Cra- 
covie."  Their  palace  is  not  very  large. 


96  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

but  extremely  handsome  and  elegant ;  from 
the  rear  the  view  extends  over  a  large 
garden  to  the  river  Vistula.  I  am  occupy- 
ing a  pretty  room  which  must  be  especially 
agreeable  in  summer,  because  there  is  a 
balcony  leading  into  a  little  garden ;  on 
one  side  are  the  apartments  of  the  princess, 
on  the  other  is  my  maid's  room. 

A  tailor  has  already  been  to  take  my 
measure  and  he  seemed  surprised  at  the 
smallness  of  my  waist.  He  will  make  sev- 
eral dresses  for  me,  but  I  do  not  know 
what  they  will  be ;  the  princess  ordered 
them  herself,  and  she  inspires  me  with 
such  awe,  not  to  say  fear,  that  I  do  not 
dare  to  ask  her  about  anything.  The  Prince 
Woivode  intimidates  me  less,  although  he 
is  a  man;  he  has  gentle  manners  and 
seems  to  like  me.  I  regret  that  he  is  not 
here  at  present;  he  went  to  meet  the 
Duke  of  Courland  at  the  frontier. 

To-morrow  we  are  going  to  pay  visits. 
The  princess  will  introduce  me  to  all  the 
first  families  here.  I  feel  a  little  afraid  and 
nervous. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  97 

Sunday,  December  29. 

I  have  three  good  things  to  write  to-day. 
The  Duke  of  Courland  arrived  yesterday ; 
the  Prince  Woivode  returned  with  him 
und  greeted  me  as  if  I  were  his  own 
daughter,  and  the  visits  are  over.  In 
some  houses  such  as  the  primate's,  the 
French  and  Spanish  envoys',  and  some 
others,  the  princess  only  left  small  cards 
with  her  name  and  title  on  them. 

Among  the  visits  I  remember  best  was 
the  one  to  the  Princess  Lubomirska,  nee 
Princess  Czartoryska,  the  sister-in-law  of 
the  Woivode.  She  is  the  leading  woman 
among  the  young  set,  and  affects  everything 
French.  I  observe  that  here  the  more 
fashionable  the  house,  and  the  younger  the 
hostess,  the  more  one  hears  French ;  as 
the  old  men  sprinkle  their  conversation 
with  Latin,  so  the  young  do  with  French. 
But  in  the  salon  of  Madame  Woivodine  of 
Russ,  the  conversation  was  only  in  Polish. 
She  is  an  elderly  and  very  stately  lady,  and 
she  pleased  me  immensely.  I  met  there 
her  only  son,  a  fine  cavalier,  who  paid  me 
7 


98  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

many  agreeable  compliments,  and  I  think 
I  enjoyed  that  visit  most. 

I  enjoyed  also  the  visit  at  Madame 
Poniatowska's,  the  widow  of  the  Castellan 
of  Cracow.  She  is  a  very  remarkable 
woman  and  talks  with  great  eloquence. 
She  was  giving  a  reception  on  that  day,  in 
honor  of  her  son  Stanislaus  who  had  re- 
turned from  St.  Petersburg,  and  of  whom 
it  is  said  secretly  that  he  may  become 
King  of  Poland.  I  watched  him  intently, 
but  I  cannot  say  that  he  pleased  me, 
although  I  acknowledge  that  he  is  hand- 
some, and  has  grand  manners,  I  should 
say  royal. 

Another  good  visit  was  at  Madame 
Rzevuska's,  where  we  found  her  husband} 
the  Woivode  of  Podolie.  I  was  very  glad 
to  see  him,  as  I  had  often  heard  from  my 
honored  Father  about  his  adventures  when 
a  child ;  how  he  was  brought  up  among 
peasant  boys  and  tramped  barefoot  as  they 
do,  and  thus  grew  tough  and  fearless.  He 
is  over  fifty  now,  but  looks  young  and  vig- 
orous. He  is  said  to  be  also  extremely 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  99 

learned.     The   Prince   Woivode    told    me 
that  he  writes  beautiful  tragedies. 

We  went  also  to  Madame  Bruhl's,  the 
wife  of  the  minister  and  special  favorite  of 
the  king ;  although  he  is  neither  liked  nor 
respected  by  anybody,  she  is  received 
everywhere,  and  called  upon,  as  she  is  a 
very  refined  lady.  Our  next  call  was  upon 
Madame  Soltyk,  the  widow  of  the  Castellan 
of  Sandomir.  She  introduced  us  to  her  son 
Stanislaus,  a  boy  of  nine  years,  but  gallant 
as  a  young  cavalier ;  the  elderly  ladies  were 
not  yet  seated,  when  he  brought  a  chair  for 
me,  paying  me  a  compliment,  and  Madame 
Castellan  said  that  he  was  always  enraptured 
with  pretty  faces  and  black  eyes.  She  also 
was  very  enthusiastic  about  my  looks,  and 
to  tell  the  truth,  everywhere  they  spoke 
about  my  beauty,  —  sometimes  in  a  whisper, 
but  I  heard  it  as  well.  But  then  I  never 
have  been  dressed  so  beautifully,  even  at 
Basia's  wedding.  I  had  a  dress  of  white 
brocade  with  wide  flounces  of  gauze,  a 
court  train  of  turquoise  blue,  and  pearls  in 
my  hair. 


100  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

I  should  have  been  quite  satisfied  with 
those  visits,  if  I  had  met  the  Duke  of 
Courland  anywhere.  I  started  from  home 
with  that  hope,  but  I  was  disappointed. 
After  his  long  absence  he  spends  his  days 
now  with  his  father,  and  has  not  yet  been 
seen  out  of  the  royal  castle.  It  is  quite 
natural ;  I  myself  have  been  so  often  home- 
sick for  my  honored  Parents,  especially 
when  in  school.  But  soon  the  carnival 
will  begin ;  there  will  be  balls  and  assem- 
blies without  end.  The  duke  goes  every- 
where, and  he  likes  dancing  very  much,  the 
Woivode  says,  so  I  am  sure  to  meet  him. 

Wednesday,  January  I,  1760. 
My  wishes  have  been  fulfilled,  how  much 
fulfilled  !  Not  only  have  I  seen  the  duke, 
but  I  talked  with  him ;  I  not  only  talked 
with  him  but  .  .  .  but  will  it  not  be  too 
bold  to  write  down  that  which  I  would  not 
dare  to  whisper  to  anybody,  what  I  do  not 
dare  to  believe  myself,  what  perhaps  I  only 
dreamed  of?  Well !  no,  I  did  not  dream, 
1  am  sure  of  that ;  I  always  know  very  well 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  IOI 

when  I  please  any  one.  And  then  is  there 
anything  extraordinary,  since  God  has 
made  me  handsome,  and  everybody  ac- 
knowledges it.  that  the  duke  looked  at  me 
with  the  same  eyes  as  other  people  ?  The 
same  eyes?  —  was  there  not  in  his  eyes 
something  more  than  in  others?  .  .  . 

But  everything  ought  to  be  set  down  in 
order.  Yesterday  morning  the  Princess 
Woivodine  had  me  called  to  her  and  spoke 
thus :  "  To-night,  as  on  the  last  night  in 
the  year,  there  is  generally  a  ridotto,  which 
means  a  masked  ball.  All  the  best  people, 
even  the  king  and  the  royal  princes  go  to 
it ;  and  you,  mademoiselle,  will  come  with 
us,  dressed  as  the  '  Goddess  of  the  Sun.'  " 
I  was  delighted  and  I  kissed  the  princess' 
hand.  Soon  alter  dinner  they  began  to 
dress  me  in  a  costume  quite  different  from 
the  usual,  being  without  powder  or  hoops. 
The  princess  told  me  very  earnestly  that 
although  such  a  dress  was  not  decent  at  all, 
and  that  a  woman  would  ruin  her  reputa- 
tion if  she  wore  it  on  any  other  occasion, 
still  she  hoped  that  by  the  expression  of 


102  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

my  face,  and  my  demeanor,  I  would  make 
up  for  the  deficiency  of  my  costume. 
Obeying  her  instructions  I  tried  to  look 
very  dignified,  and  I  think  I  succeeded,  for 
I  heard  people  at  the  ball  asking,  "  Who  is 
that  queen  in  disguise?"  Now,  when  I 
think  of  it  I  feel  uneasy ;  perhaps  in  that 
costume  I  was  prettier  than  on  other  days. 
...  In  any  case  I  certainly  looked  quite 
different.  My  hair,  thoroughly  cleansed 
from  powder,  fell  in  loose  curls  over  my 
neck  and  shoulders ;  my  dress  of  white 
gauze  was  clasped  with  a  golden  band  at 
the  waist ;  on  my  breast  I  wore  a  golden 
sun,  and  over  my  head  a  long,  flowing  veil, 
which  enveloped  me  like  a  cloud.  I  did 
not  recognize  myself  when  after  dressing  I 
was  allowed  to  look  in  a  mirror.  Perhaps 
others  would  not  recognize  me  as  I  am 
now.  .  .  . 

The  ballroom  was  almost  full  when  we 
entered.  I  felt  dizzy,  seeing  such  a  crowd 
of  people,  so  diversely  and  handsomely 
dressed,  with  and  without  masks,  in  ordi- 
nary and  extraordinary  costumes.  I  did  not 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  103 

know  which  way  to  turn  my  eyes,  and  what 
to  look  at  first. 

Suddenly  a  murmur  arose  in  the  crowd. 
Some  voices  said,  "  The  Duke  of  Courland," 
and  surrounded  by  a  group  of  handsome 
and  richly  dressed  young  men,  there  he 
was.  I  knew  him  at  once,  although  his 
costume  did  not  differ  much  from  those  of 
the  others ;  but  his  stature,  his  large  blue 
eyes,  extremely  soft,  and  his  charming 
smile  made  him  different  from  every  body 
else.  I  gazed  at  him  as  long  as  he  did  not 
see  me,  but  when  our  eyes  once  met  I 
could  not  look  at  him  any  more,  for  I 
always  met  his  glance.  I  saw  him  inquir- 
ing about  me,  —  and  of  whom  ?  Of  the 
Prince  Woivode  !  I  noticed  the  pleasant 
smile  when  he  learned  who  I  was,  and  he 
at  once  approached  the  princess,  greeting 
her  in  a  most  charming  voice.  After  the 
first  compliments  were  over,  the  princess 
took  my  hand,  and  introduced  me  as  her 
niece. 

I  do  not  know  at  all  how  I  bowed, 
but  I  fear  it  was  not  that  special  courtesy 


104  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

which  the  dancing-master  taught  me. 
Neither  do  I  know  what  the  duke  said  to 
me ;  I  only  remember  that  he  opened  the 
ball  with  the  princess,  and  danced  the 
second  polonaise  with  me.  Then  when  he 
talked,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  answered 
without  any  embarrassment.  He  inquired 
about  my  honored  Parents,  about  Madame 
Starostine,  and  her  wedding.  I  wondered 
how  he  knew  so  well  about  everything, 
when  I  recollected  that  the  Castellanic 
Kochanowski  was  his  favorite.  The  good 
boy  has  not  only  "  digested  the  goose  with 
the  black  gravy,"  but  he  gave  the  duke  the 
best  report  of  us  all.  "  He  praised  you 
much,  but  not  half  enough,"  said  the 
duke.  I  heard  many  other  nice  things 
during  that  dance  and  the  following  ones, 
for  the  duke  invited  me  for  almost  all  the 
minuets  and  quadrilles,  and  talked  to  me 
all  the  time. 

When  at  midnight  they  fired  the  cannon 
as  a  sign  of  the  beginning  of  the  new  year, 
he  said  to  me,  "  I  shall  forever  remember  this 
night ;  it  is  not  only  a  new  year,  it  is  the 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  105 

beginning  of  a  new  life  for  me."  And  how 
many  clever  comparisons  about  my  cos- 
tume !  (Only,  it  does  not  sound  as  well  in 
any  other  language  as  in  French.)  "  It 
was  not  the  gold  on  my  breast  which  was 
the  sun,  but  rather  my  eyes ;  their  glance 
lighted  an  eternal  fire  in  the  heart,  etc., 
etc."  Finer  compliments  could  not  be 
found  in  the  novels  of  Mademoiselle  de 
Scude'ry  or  Madame  Lafayette. 

Can  all  that  be  only  sham,  courtly  civil- 
ity? It  is  a  pity  I  cannot  ask  anybody 
about  it,  but  I  am  afraid  of  the  princess, 
and  I  cannot  ask  the  Prince  VVoivode ;  it 
would  not  be  proper  to  talk  about  those 
things  to  a  man.  I  feel  too  much  left  to 
myself;  one  week  ago  I  was  a  school -girl 
among  books  and  teachers,  and  to-day  I 
am  playing  a  part  in  the  world  of  which  I 
know  nothing.  But  in  about  ten  days 
Basia  is  coming  here ;  she  is  so  wise  she 
will  enlighten  me.  I  am  so  very  happy 
thinking  that  she  will  come.  I  have  not 
seen  that  dearest  sister  of  mine  for  three 
quarters  of  the  year,  but  I  know  that  she  is 


IO6  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

moie  and  more  happy,  more  and  more  be- 
loved by  her  husband. 

When  shall  I  see  the  duke  again  ?  Will 
he  recognize  me  in  my  every-day  dress? 

Friday,  January  3. 

I  have  seen  the  duke,  I  have  seen  him 
twice,  and  I  am  laughing  now  at  that  child- 
ish anxiety  I  had,  wondering  if  he  would 
recognize  me.  Why,  I  should  always  know 
him,  no  matter  how  well  disguised  he 
might  be. 

I  just  finished  writing  my  journal  on  New 
Year's  day,  when  the  Prince  Woivode  came 
to  my  room.  "  Francoise,"  he  said,  "  you 
surpassed  all  our  expectations ;  your  de- 
meanor at  the  ball  yesterday  was  perfect, 
and  it  pleased  generally,  even  the  most 
notable  persons.  I  have  just  returned  from 
the  Castle,  where  we  went  with  the  sena- 
tors and  ministers  to  pay  our  New  Year's 
compliments  to  his  Majesty.  His  Royal 
Highness  the  Duke  of  Courland  ap- 
proached me,  and  declared  that  he  had 
never  seen  anybody  like  you,  and  that  if  it 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  107 

were  not  for  the  etiquette  of  the  court, 
which  requires  him  to  spend  the  New  Year's 
day  with  the  king,  he  would  come  to  pay 
you  his  respects  in  person."  I  felt  my 
cheeks  growing  red  when  I  heard  these 
flattering  words,  but  the  prince  seemed  not 
to  notice  it,  and  went  away  leaving  me  with 
my  thoughts. 

And  so  I  shall  meet  the  duke,  not  only 
at  the  balls,  but  in  this  very  house  !  "  He 
has  never  seen  anybody  like  you."  These 
words  are  still  sounding  in  my  ears,  as  if 
somebody  were  repeating  them  constantly. 

I  was  so  gay  at  dinner  that  the  princess 
had  to  reproach  me  several  times.  After 
dinner  we  went  again  to  pay  some  visits, 
but  we  left  the  carriage  only  twice,  as  all 
the  people  were  out  for  the  same  purpose. 
We  met  in  the  streets,  the  carriages 
stopped,  sometimes  several  of  them  at  one 
time,  and  cards  were  exchanged  amid  much 
laughing,  noise,  and  confusion.  In  the 
evening  it  was  still  gayer  when  the  pages 
and  the  torch-bearers  were  moving  about 
with  their  lights  and  brilliant  uniforms. 


I08  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

There  were  even  several  accidents,  but  we 
fortunately  arrived  safe.  We  returned 
home  quite  late.  I  went  to  sleep  at  once, 
being  very  tired,  but  queer  dreams  flitted 
through  my  head. 

The  following  day  at  noon,  when  I  sat 
with  the  princess  in  the  drawing-room,  be- 
ginning a  new  piece  of  work  on  the  frame, 
the  chamberlain  announced :  "  His  Royal 
Highness  the  Duke  of  Courland."  The 
princess  rose  quickly,  and  hastened  to 
meet  him  at  the  entrance.  I,  in  the  first 
moment  wanted  to  run  away,  but  my  wish 
to  see  him  was  still  stronger  than  my  tim- 
idity, and  I  stayed.  As  soon  as  he  entered 
he  approached  me  and  inquired  about  my 
health.  I  answered  distinctly,  although  I 
felt  very  much  embarrassed,  and  when  he 
sat  near  my  working- frame,  I  had  sufficient 
command  of  myself  to  thread  at  once  some 
very  fine  needles  with  rather  coarse  silk,  in 
spite  of  my  trembling  hands. 

He  praised  my  skill ;  stayed  about  half 
an  hour,  and  although  he  talked  most  with 
the  princess,  still  he  found  an  opportunity 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  IOg 

to  say  many  amiable  things  to  me.  I 
could  thus  ascertain  that  my  different  dress 
did  not  change  me  in  his  eyes.  He  de- 
parted saying  that  he  hoped  to  see  us  the 
same  evening  at  the  ball.  I  heard  then 
that  the  Marquis  d'Argenson,  the  French 
ambassador,  was  giving  a  ball  to  which  I 
was  to  go. 

What  a  reception  it  was  !  Why,  Basia's 
wedding  was  nothing  in  comparison.  And 
how  highly  educated  are  all  these  people 
in  Warsaw!  Whenever  they  open  their 
mouths  it  is  to  compliment,  but  the  duke's 
compliments  surpass  them  all.  He  could 
not  talk  with  me  as  much  as  at  the  bal- 
masque,  neither  did  I  answer  as  boldly. 
But  then  I  was  no  longer  the  Goddess  of 
the  Sun,  and  besides,  it  always  happened 
that  somebody  was  standing  near  us  as  if 
to  listen  to  what  we  were  saying.  I  do  not 
like  it;  it  is  not  nice,  especially  in  well- 
bred  people,  to  be  inquisitive. 

The  princess  is  in  high  spirits ;  she  was 
the  only  elderly  lady  with  whom  the  duke 
danced  last  night.  The  Prince  Woivode  is 


110  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

more  gracious  to  me  than  ever,  but  he 
seems  to  avoid  any  questions  from  me  or 
counselling  me  in  any  way.  I  look  for- 
ward with  growing  impatience  to  my  dear 

sister's  coming. 

Sunday,  January  5. 

During  the  whole  of  yesterday,  the  duke, 
the  balls,  all  my  dreams,  everything  went 
from  my  mind ;  all  my  thoughts  were  with 
my  sister,  although  I  have  not  seen  her 
yet.  She  arrived  yesterday  morning  and 
was  taken  suddenly  ill.  The  princess  has- 
tened at  once  to  her  house,  but  I  was  not 
allowed  to  go.  I  spent  the  whole  day  in 
the  most  dreadful  anxiety,  and  sent  to  three 
churches  to  have  masses  said.  At  last, 
after  midnight  the  princess  returned  with 
the  news  that  Basia  was  as  well  as  could  be 
expected,  and  that  she  had  a  little  daughter. 
This  morning  I  begged  on  my  knees  to  be 
allowed  to  go  there,  but  they  said  it  would 
not  be  proper,  and  that  I  should  have  to 
wait  several  weeks.  The  Staroste  came 
here  for  one  moment,  very  happy  to  be  a 
father.  The  little  girl  is,  they  say,  beauti- 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  Ill 

ful.  If  they  would  only  let  me  see  her ! 
She  will  be  named  Angela  in  honor  of  my 
gracious  Mother. 

This  morning  the  duke  sent  his  con- 
gratulations and  best  wishes  for  the  little 
grand-niece.  Oh  !  I  am  longing  to  see  my 
sister. 

Wednesday,  January  8. 

Basia  is  still  in  bed,  but  the  news  from 
her  and  her  little  daughter  is  the  best. 

I  have  seen  the  duke  once  only ;  he  was 
away  hunting  with  the  king,  but  yesterday 
he  appeared  unexpectedly  and  stayed 
over  an  hour.  How  good  he  must  be,  and 
how  he  loves  his  father  !  He  spoke  about 
the  late  queen,  his  mother,  with  tears  in 
his  eyes.  One  can  see  also  that  he  loves 
Poland,  and  that  he  has  a  most  noble  and 
valiant  heart.  Everything  I  ever  heard  of 
him  is  true  ;  he  is  not  praised  even  enough  ; 
one  cannot  well  describe  the  charm  of  his 
voice,  his  sweet  smile,  and  the  look  of  his 
blue  eyes,  so  deep  and  so  soft !  I  do  not 
wonder  that  the  Russian  empress  was 
charmed  with  him,  —  that  he  carried  away 


112  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

the  hearts  of  the  Courland  people ;  and  I 
shall  not  be  surprised  if  after  his  father's 
death,  Poland  calls  him  to  the  throne. 
And  he  likes  me  !  ...  Sometimes  I  think 
that  it  cannot  be.  Still,  yesterday  his  eyes 
told  me  that  so  plainly ;  and  not  only  his 
eyes,  but  some  of  his  words  too,  and  the 
Prince  Woivode  also  seems  to  think  so. 

The  princess  made  me  feel  a  little  sad 
when,  at  table,  she  said,  with  some  mean- 
ing, it  appeared  to  me,  that  "  many  women 
have  already  pleased  the  duke  "  and  that 
the  last  one  he  sees  always  seems  to  him 
the  most  beautiful.  But  how  childish  I  am  ! 
how  should  that  trouble  me? 

Am  I  the  only  pretty  woman  in  this 
world?  In  my  eyes  the  three  Warsaw 
belles,  Mademoiselle  Wessel,  the  Countess 
Potocka,  and  the  Princess  Sapieha  are  with- 
out any  comparison  more  handsome  than 
I.  And  what  is  more,  they  know  how  to 
enhance  their  beauty,  which  is  an  art  quite 
unknown  to  me.  The  duke  says  that  that 
is  my  great  charm,  but  it  seems  to  me  that 
my  complexion  is  quite  eclipsed  by  theirs. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  113 

Especially  at  the  ball  in  the  French  embassy 
Madame  Potocka  was  ravishing,  and  the 
duke  danced  with  her  twice.  Well,  what 
right  have  I  to  be  displeased  with  that? 

Sunday,  January  12. 

I  ought  to  be  quite  pleased  now  !  At  the 
ball  of  the  Woivode  of  Russ,  last  Thursday, 
the  duke  danced  only  with  me.  On  Fri- 
day he  called  here  again.  Yesterday  he 
sent  us  by  his  aide-de-camp  an  invitation  for 
a  new  Italian  opera,  "  Semiramide,"  given 
in  the  court  theatre,  and  there  he  devoted 
himself  exclusively  to  me.  There  I  was 
also  presented  to  the  king,  who  was  very 
gracious  and  inquired  about  both  my 
honored  Parents.  Still  more,  the  Staroste 
came  here  an  hour  ago  announcing  that 
the  duke  wished  to  stand  godfather  to  the 
little  Angela,  and  desires  me  to  be  the  god- 
mother,—  me,  nobody  else;  he  insisted 
upon  that. 

The  christening  will  be  magnificent,  in 
the  royal  Collegiate  Church.  There  were 
to  be  more  couples  invited  to  assist,  but 
8 


114  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

out  of  respect  to  the  duke  the  honor  will 
be  left  solely  to  him ;  the  others  will  only 
be  witnesses  of  the  ceremony.  Many  of 
the  most  distinguished  persons  will  be  in- 
vited. The  whole  of  Warsaw  will  talk 
about  the  affair,  and  certainly  the  "  Cou- 
rier "  will  describe  it,  and  our  two  names 
will  stand  there  together. 

What  will  Madame  Strumle  and  the 
young  ladies  in  the  school  say  to  that,  and 
my  honored  Parents,  and  all  the  people  in 
Maleszow,  and  the  good  Matenko?  I  am 
sure  he  will  say  that  it  is  because  of  his 
predictions. 

Oh,  that  Matenko  !  how  often  his  words 
come  to  my  mind.  He  is  responsible  for 
all  my  troubles ;  but  for  his  hints  no  foolish 
notions  would  have  entered  my  head.  As 
it  is,  I  do  not  feel  two  days  alike :  some- 
times the  happy  thoughts  crowd  around 
me,  life  seems  full  of  hope,  and  I  hardly 
know  that  there  is  an  earth  under  my  feet ; 
then  suddenly  everything  seems  to  fade, 
and  my  heart  feels  heavy  and  so  sad  ! 

For  instance,  to-day  when  I  was  so  en- 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  115 

raptured  at  the  news  of  the  christening,  the 
princess  mentioned,  —  I  do  not  know  why, 
—  that  the  law  of  the  Church  forbids  the 
godparents  to  marry  each  other,  and  I 
shuddered. 

But  what  makes  me  feel  really  happy  is 
that  at  last  I  shall  see  my  dearest  sister. 
After  the  christening  we  go  to  her  house. 

Wednesday,  January  15. 

The  ceremony  took  place  yesterday  and 
I  have  seen  Basia,  who  looks  beautiful,  al- 
though she  has  grown  a  little  thin  and  pale. 
She  is  always  as  good  as  an  angel,  and  as 
happy  as  a  queen. 

The  duke  begged  that  the  little  girl  be 
named  after  me,  but  Basia  was  firm  in  her 
first  purpose ;  and  she  was  right,  for  this 
honor  was  due  to  our  gracious  Mother. 
Thus  the  little  girl  was  christened  "  Angela ; " 
she  is  a  dear  little  thing,  and  she  cried  dur- 
ing the  whole  ceremony,  which  is  a  good 
sign  that  she  will  live  to  be  aged.  It  was 
the  first  time  in  my  life  that  I  stood  as  god- 
mother ;  I  did  not  know  how  to  hold  the 


Il6  THE  JOURNAL   OP 

baby,  so  the  duke  had  to  help  me.  It 
seemed  so  queer  to  stand  with  him  before 
the  altar  surrounded  by  so  many  people, 
and  to  write  down  my  name  next  to  his  in 
the  large  book.  Perhaps  it  was  to  this 
event  that  Matenko's  predictions  referred. 

Everybody  is  congratulating  me  on  the 
great  honor  which  befell  me.  The  duke 
is  still  more  attentive  than  before,  and  a 
little  more  familiar ;  he  calls  me  "  my  beau- 
tiful partner,"  and  the  little  girl  is  always 
"  our  little  Angela."  He  presented  hand- 
some gifts  to  Madame  Starostine  and  to 
me,  and  threw  handfuls  of  gold  among  the 
attendants  and  the  poor  in  the  church. 

I  for  my  part  could  not  do  so  much,  but 
the  little  embroidered  christening  robe,  my 
gift  to  Angela,  has  cost  me  more  than  a  few 
hours'  work. 

But  I  forget  to  speak  about  an  impor- 
tant affair.  The  topic  of  conversation  in 
Warsaw  has  for  some  time  been  a  hunting 
party  which  the  Prince  Jerome  Radzivill, 
the  Hetman  of  the  Lithuania  army,  is  pre- 
paring for  the  pleasure  of  the  king  and  the 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  1 17 

duke.  He  is  spending  thousands  in  order 
to  make  a  grand  display,  and  has  had  the 
game  brought  from  the  forests  of  Lithuania, 
over  500  miles  away.  The  fete  will  be  to- 
morrow ;  the  weather  is  fine  and  the  sleigh- 
ing excellent.  The  duke  wished  to  drive 
his  "  partner,"  and  it  shall  be  so.  The  four 
Warsaw  belles  —  for  I  am  counted  now  as 
the  fourth  —  will  go  in  one  sleigh,  and  the 
duke  will  be  our  driver.  All  four  will 
have  costumes  alike,  but  of  different  colors, 
—  long  velvet  coats,  tight  at  the  waist, 
trimmed  with  sable,  and  small  caps  with 
fur  to  match.  The  Countess  Potocka  has 
selected  blue,  the  Princess  Sapieha  dark 
green,  Mademoiselle  Wessel  marroon,  and 
I  shall  wear  dark  crimson. 

It  is  a  pity  Basia  will  not  see  all  this,  but 
she  is  so  happy  with  her  little  Angela  that 
she  does  not  care  for  anything  else. 

Friday,  January  17. 

I  have  never  in  my  life  seen  anything 
so  magnificent  as  this  hunting  party.  We 
started  at  nine  o  clock  in  the  morning.  One 


Il8  THE    JOURNAL   OF 

could  not  possibly  count  all  the  horses  and 
sleighs  which  were  assembled  before  the 
king's  castle,  but  ours  was  the  handsomest 
of  all,  and  we  followed  first  after  the  king. 
The  duke,  in  a  hunting  costume  of  green 
velvet,  looked  superb ! 

We  had  a  long  drive  far  beyond  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Cross,  to  Ujazdow. 
There,  coming  down  the  hill  on  which  is 
built  the  city  of  Warsaw,  is  a  large  field 
usually  planted  with  wheat.1  This  field 
was  enclosed  by  a  fence  with  a  gate,  orna- 
mented with  escutcheons,  devices,  and  in- 
scriptions. In  the  middle  stood  an  iron 
kiosk  into  which  the  king  and  the  duke 
entered.  Near  the  kiosk  was  a  space  cov- 
ered with  bear- skins  for  the  most  notable 
men,  and  further  on,  an  amphitheatre  with 
an  iron  railing  for  the  ladies.  The  whole 
place  looked  like  a  forest,  for  except  a 
space  left  around  the  kiosk,  the  ground  was 
covered  with  big  pine-trees  planted  for  the 

1  That  place  is  now  Lazienki,  with  a  park  and  a 
charming  little  palace  built  by  the  last  Polish  king, 
Stanislaus  Foniatowski,  for  his  summer  residence 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  119 

occasion.  In  the  background,  one  saw  the 
hills  covered  with  a  throng  of  spectators. 

As  soon  as  we  arrived  and  took  our  seats 
the  trumpets  and  the  horns  gave  the  signal, 
and  the  hunters  of  the  Prince  Radzivill  let 
the  wild  beasts  loose  from  the  enclosure. 
There  were  bears,  deer,  wild  boars  and 
wolves ;  the  trained  dogs  chased  them 
toward  the  kiosk,  and  one  cannot  describe 
the  howling  and  the  roaring  of  the  wild 
animals,  the  barking  of  the  dogs,  the  shriek- 
ing of  the  ladies,  and  all  the  noise  which 
ensued.  The  king  himself  shot  three  wild 
boars;  the  duke  killed  much  game,  and 
fought  a  bear  with  the  spear,  a  proof  of 
great  strength  and  skill.  The  skin  of  that 
bear  was  presented  to  me  for  a  rug. 

The  hunt  lasted  until  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon;  we  had  a  lunch  served  to  us 
during  that  time.  There  were  perhaps  a 
hundred  hunters  and  game-keepers  of  the 
Prince  Radzivill,  all  dressed  in  red  livery 
and  armed  with  guns  and  pikes. 

This  entertainment  was  given  in  honor 
of  the  anniversary  of  the  coronation  of  the 


120  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

king ;  for  the  same  purpose  there  will  be  a 
ball  to-night  given  by  the  Marshal  of  the 
Crown,  Bielinski. 

Saturday,  January  18. 

The  ball  was  splendid.  The  duke  was 
very  gay  and  happy,  as  on  that  day  he  re- 
ceived a  diamond-star  order  from  the  king. 
I  danced  a  great  deal  and  my  feet  are  ach- 
ing ;  but  I  am  sorry  that  I  spoke  of  it,  for 
now  I  shall  have  to  stay  at  home  and  rest 
for  ten  days.  The  princess  fears  that  the 
incessant  dancing  and  late  hours  will  injure 
my  health ;  really,  my  cheeks  have  become 
rather  pale. 

We  received  letters  from  Maleszow.  My 
honored  Mother  deigned  to  write  to  me 
herself,  recommending  earnestly  that  I  be 
prudent  about  my  health  and  that  I  take 
the  greatest  care  of  my  reputation,  so  as  to 
give  no  cause  for  the  slightest  reproach  for 
frivolity.  She  says  that  I  ought  not  to 
believe  all  the  compliments  I  may  hear, 
that  often  a  young  girl  is  called  a  belle 
through  some  passing  fancy,  not  because 
her  beauty  really  deserves  it;  and  that  it 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  121 

sometimes  spoils  her  whole  life,  for  her 
head  is  turned,  her  expectations  aim  too 
high,  and  she  may  be  forsaken  and  laughed 
at  in  the  end.  I  am  sure  that  will  never 
be  the  case  with  me.  My  ambition  may 
be  ever  so  high,  but  nobody  shall  know 
about  my  disappointment  if  it  comes. 
Still  I  could  not  help  crying  when  I  read 
that  letter;  I  carry  it  with  me  and  often 
read  it  over.  Happy  is  the  young  girl  who 
never  leaves  her  parents'  home  !  I  often 
regret  the  old  Maleszow  Castle. 

Wednesday,  January  29. 

At  last  the  ten  days  of  my  retirement 
are  over.  There  were  four  balls  during 
that  time,  and  one  of  them  a  bal-masque, 
where  I  was  to  appear  in  a  Scotch  qua- 
drille with  the  three  other  belles.  But  no 
entreaties  of  the  duke  or  others  could  make 
the  princess  relent;  when  she  has  said 
anything  she  never  changes  her  decision. 

I  was  sorry  to  miss  the  balls,  but  no 
one  looking  at  me  would  have  guessed  it. 
It  is  true  that  the  duke  came  here  often, 


122  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

and  praised  my  patience  and  courage  so 
much  that  it  was  a  great  comfort.  The 
hours  spent  in  his  company  are  delightful. 
He  talks  about  Saint  Petersburg,  or  Vienna, 
where  he  also  spent  some  time ;  he  de- 
scribes the  good  people  in  Courland ;  and 
he  always  knows  how  to  put  in  a  word  the 
meaning  of  which,  I  think,  escapes  all  other 
ears  but  mine. 

How  well  he  knows  the  bad  affairs  of  our 
country  !  It  is  only  through  respect  to  his 
father  that  he  does  not  dare  to  speak  about 
them  openly.  What  a  good  king  he  would 
make  !  The  princess  says  that  his  extreme 
amiability  has  a  particular  aim,  —  to  gain  par- 
tisans for  the  future,  —  and  that  if  he  were 
elected  king,  he  would  perhaps  not  even 
look  at  us.  I  do  not  believe  it.  I  can  see 
plainly  that  the  princess  is  not  in  favor  of 
him ;  she  would  like  rather  to  see  a  Lubo- 
mirski  on  the  throne. 

To-night  there  will  be  an  entertainment 
at  the  Ladies  Canonesses' ;  a  very  agree- 
able house  and  much  frequented.  This 
order  was  founded  by  the  Countess  Zamoy- 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  123 

ska,  in  imitation  of  the  Ladies'  Chapter 
House  of  Remiremont  in  Lorraine.  It  is 
said  that  it  originated  from  the  pity  the 
countess  felt  for  a  young  girl  of  a  noble 
family,  who  was  to  be  married  in  spite  of 
her  dislike  and  even  despair.  She  was  an 
orphan  and  had  no  inclination  for  the.  con- 
vent life,  but  her  high  birth  forbade  her 
accepting  a  situation,  so  she  was  obliged  to 
marry,  merely  for  a  home.  In  order  to 
give  a  shelter  to  other  homeless  Polish  girls, 
where  they  could  lead  a  Christian  life  and 
be  free  to  marry  according  to  their  liking, 
the  countess  bought  Maryville,  a  large 
building  once  belonging  to  the  Jesuits,  and 
had  it  altered  into  small  apartments,  with  a 
common  dining-room  and  large  reception- 
parlors  ;  she  endowed  it  and  also  completed 
an  adjoining  chapel,  erected  by  the  Queen 
Mary  Kasimir,  the  wife  of  John  Sobieski,  in 
memory  of  his  victory  over  the  Turks  near 
Vienna  in  1685. 

There  are  eleven  canonesses  and  the 
abbess.  In  order  to  be  elected,  the  young 
girls  must  be  fifteen  years  old,  and  prove 


124  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

their  nobility  for  six  generations  on  both 
parents'  sides.  They  are  addressed  with 
the  title  of  "Madame." 

Ash  Wednesday,  February  19. 

Thank  God,  the  carnival  is  over  !  I  see 
that  one  can  grow  tired  even  with  enter- 
tainments. There  have  been  so  many  dur- 
ing the  last  weeks  that  I  felt  in  a  continual 
whirl.  I  could  do  nothing,  nor  think  of  any- 
thing else  but  dresses,  visits,  assemblies, 
and  other  festivities.  At  first  such  a  life 
seems  amusing,  but  by  and  by  one  feels 
disheartened,  and  in  my  life  I  have  never 
known  such  tedious  hours  as  those  I  passed 
in  the  last  fortnight.  And  yet  so  many 
people  think  that  I  am  so  very  happy,  and 
they  envy  me. 

How  beautiful  the  Countess  Potocka 
looked  at  the  ball  last  night,  dressed  as  a 
sultana !  She  was  the  queen  of  the  ball, 
and  danced  the  whole  "evening.  I  danced 
only  the  first  polonaise ;  I  hurt  my  foot  and 
refused  all  the  invitations.  Toward  the  end 
the  duke  came  to  ask  me  for  a  dance,  but 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  125 

I  did  not  care  to  dance  then.    Thank  God, 
the  carnival  is  over  ! 

Saturday,  February  29. 

A  few  words  in  haste :  I  am  going  un- 
expectedly to  Sulgostow.  There  was  noth- 
ing said  about  it  yesterday  when  the  Staroste 
and  Basia  came  to  take  their  leave,  but 
this  morning  the  Prince  Woivode  came  to 
my  room  and  said  that  my  sister  and  her 
husband  begged  me  to  go  with  them  ;  that 
I  shall  have  a  good  rest  there  and  probably 
see  my  honored  Parents,  so  I  ought  to  go. 
I  believe  that  all  the  prince's  advice  tends 
to  my  good,  so  I  did  not  hesitate,  but  I 
am  sorry  the  duke  does  not  know  any- 
thing about  it.  Perhaps  he  will  not  mind 
it  at  all ;  perhaps  he  will  not  even  notice  it, 
as  there  are  so  man}'  pretty  women  in  War- 
saw; and  the  Countess  Potocka,  she  does 
not  go  away. 

Sunday,  March  15. 

I  returned  two  days  ago.  My  diary  was 
forgotten  here  in  my  desk,  so  I  could  not 
write  in  Sulgostow.  I  was  away  a  fortnight, 


126  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

but  it  seemed  much  longer.  My  honored 
Parents  are  expected  in  Sulgostow  in  a  few 
days,  but  the  Prince  Woivode,  who  came 
for  me,  did  not  want  to  wait  even  a  few 
hours ;  we  were  almost  flying  on  the  road, 
with  fresh  horses  waiting  at  each  station, 
and  we  reached  Warsaw  in  one  day.  The 
duke  came  the  following  morning ;  he 
looked  pale,  almost  ill.  He  gave  me  to 
understand  that  it  was  my  sudden  departure, 
without  saying  good-bye,  which  made  him 
feel  so  badly.  He  said  almost  bitterly  that 
"  a  friend  deserves  better  treatment."  I 
am  sorry  now  that  I  went  away,  and  to 
be  sincere,  I  was  sorry  for  it  more  than 
once  during  that  fortnight,  but  the  Prince 
Woivode  says  that  it  was  for  the  best.  I  must 
confess  that  often  I  do  not  understand 
him  at  all,  but  I  obey  him  blindly,  for  I 
feel  that  he  is  interested  in  my  future. 
The  princess  greeted  me  very  graciously. 

In  Sulgostow  I  spent  most  of  the  time 
petting  the  little  Angela,  and  embroidering 
a  cushion  for  the  Christ's  chapel,  in  order 
to  propitiate  Heaven  in  a  certain  direction, 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  127 

which  I  do  not  dare  to  name  here.  I 
worked  assiduously ;  it  seemed  to  me  that 
every  stitch  made  the  fulfilment  of  my 
wishes  nearer,  and  now  my  work  is  finished. 
They  celebrated  with  great  magnificence 
the  anniversary  of  Basia's  wedding  in  Sul- 
gostow.  How  many  changes  in  this  one 
yearl 

Thursday,  March  19. 

Yesterday  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant 
days  I  can  remember.  The  duke  was  as 
gay  and  charming  as  at  the  beginning  of 
our  acquaintance.  He  came  here  first  in 
the  morning,  but  only  for  a  moment,  as  he 
was  going  to  a  hunt  with  the  king ;  then  in 
the  evening ,  when  we  did  not  expect  him 
at  all,  he  ran  in,  — I  think  he  walked,  as  no 
carriage  was  heard,  —  and  he  stayed  a  few 
hours.  He  is  freer  now  to  leave  the  castle, 
as  his  two  brothers,  Albert  and  Clement,  are 
in  Warsaw,  and  they  keep  the  king  company. 

The  Duke  Clement  is  said  to  be  very 
good  and  religious,  and  he  is  to  enter  the 
Church.  It  is  quite  right  that  the  king. 


128  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

having  several  sons,  wishes  to  give  one  ot 
them  to  the  service  of  God,  but  it  is  as 
well  that  it  was  not  the  lot  of  the  Duke  of 
Courland. 

Tuesday,  March  24. 

Although  it  is  Lent,  I  have  a  delightful 
time;  the  duke  runs  in  as  often  as  he  can 
leave  the  Castle.  He  says  that  he  rests 
here  from  the  etiquette  of  the  court.  But 
to-morrow  will  be  the  end  of  all  the  worldly 
pleasure.  The  princess  has  a  few  rooms 
kept  for  her  in  the  Convent  of  the  Holy 
Sacrament,  and  every  year,  before  Easter, 
she  secludes  herself  for  eight  days  in  order 
to  be  well  prepared  for  confession.  All 
the  ladies  do  the  same,  and  I  naturally 
shall  accompany  the  princess.  During 
eight  days  we  shall  see  only  priests  and 
nuns ;  we  shall  read  only  religious  books, 
and  work  for  the  Church  or  the  poor. 

Holy  Thursday,  April  2. 
Our  retirement  is  over,  Easter  confession 
is  made,  and  I  feel  so  free  in  my  mind  and 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  129 

so  quiet  in  my  heart !  I  had  an  excellent 
confessor,  Father  Bodue;  he  is  all  the 
fashion,  as  he  is  French,  but  even  in  spite 
of  fashion  I  would  always  choose  him  for 
my  director.  He  is  a  saint,  and  he  is  so 
wise  !  We  had  many  and  long  conversa- 
tions with  him.  He  knew  so  well  how  to 
speak  to  my  heart  and  make  it  humble  and 
full  of  contrition,  he  was  so  convincing 
when  speaking  of  the  voidness  of  the  things 
of  the  world  and  the  dangers  of  it,  that 
really  there  were  moments  when  I  wanted 
to  leave  everything  and  become  a  sister  of 
charity  in  his  hospital.  I  was  just  pacing 
my  little  cell  thinking  earnestly  about  it, 
when  my  maid  entered  and  whispered  that 
she  saw  one  of  the  duke's  hunters  passing 
near  the  convent.  My  devout  thoughts 
were  thus  scattered  and  I  could  not  grasp 
them  again. 

Still,  Father  Bodue  told  me  also  that  one 
can  be  saved  as  well  in  the  world  when 
living  virtuously,  and  that  such  a  life  is  still 
more  meritorious,  as  it  is  more  difficult. 
Why,  then,  should  I  shrink  from  it? 
9 


130  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

I  really  regret  that  this  week  is  over, 
although  we  lived  in  perfect  seclusion. 
To-day  we  shall  see  everybody,  as  we  are 
going  to  the  Castle  for  the  ceremonies  of 
Holy  Thursday. 

Friday,   April  10. 

Easter  is  over.  I  cannot  say  that  those 
days  were  unpleasant,  but  the  quietude  of 
thought  and  heart  of  one  week  ago,  they 
are  mine  no  more.  Moreover,  my  con- 
science has  more  than  one  thing  to  re- 
proach me  for,  so  soon  after  my  most 
earnest  resolves  ! 

For  instance,  that  as  early  as  Holy  Thurs- 
day I  was  guilty  of  a  dreadful  piece  of 
vanity !  Was  such  a  thing  ever  heard  of? 

It  occurred  thus  :  when  I  was  to  put  on 
my  mourning-dress,  as  is  the  custom  in 
holy  week,  the  princess  entered  my  room 
followed  by  two  maids  carrying  a  magnifi- 
cent gown  of  white  satin  with  a  long  trans- 
parent veil,  a  wreath  of  white  roses  for  my 
hair,  and  a  bouquet  for  my  corsage.  I  was 
amazed,  but  the  princess  explained  that  on 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  131 

Holy  Thursday  after  Mass,  said  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Castle,  the  king  and  all  the 
assemblage  go  to  a  large  room  where 
twelve  poor  men  are  sitting  at  table,  and 
the  king,  in  imitation  of  Christ's  humility, 
washes  their  feet  and  serves  them  at  dinner. 
During  this  ceremony,  one  of  the  society 
young  ladies  is  to  make  a  collection  for 
the  poor.  The  king  himself  appoints  the 
young  lady ;  this  time  he  named  me,  and 
promised  to  give  the  collected  money  to 
Father  Bodue  for  his  hospital,  which  is  be- 
ing built.  I  felt  overcome  with  joy  hearing 
this,  but  it  was  not  because  of  the  poor  or 
Father  Bodue ;  it  was  simply  vanity.  I 
saw  myself,  not  in  a  heavy  black  and  un- 
becoming dress,  but  clad  in  white,  I  alone 
among  all  the  other  women,  —  and  thus 
the  handsomest  of  all !  It  was  wicked,  but 
my  conscience  feels  better  now  for  having 
confessed  it  here. 

The  collection  was  extremely  successful ; 
I  had  over  five  thousand  ducats.  The 
Prince  Charles  Radzivill  alone,  saying  "  My 


I $2  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

love  ! *  one  has  to  give  something  to  such 
a  fair  lady,"  tossed  down  five  hundred  gold 
pieces,  so  that  the  tray  bent. 

At  first  I  felt  rather  timid,  my  knees  were 
shaking  at  each  low  courtesy  which  I  had 
to  make  before  every  person,  but  by  and 
by  I  grew  bolder,  and  on  that  day  the 
lessons  of  my  dancing-master  proved  to  be 
really  useful.  The  marshal  of  the  court 
accompanied  me  telling  the  names  of  the 
persons  we  were  approaching,  and  when 
the  tray  grew  too  heavy  he  emptied  it  into 
a  bag  carried  by  the  king's  page. 

My  ears  were  filled  with  compliments. 
The  duke  told  me  that  it  was  fortunate 
that  I  begged  for  money,  not  for  hearts, 

iThe  Prince  Charles  Radzivill  had  the  habit  of 
beginning  each  sentence  with  the  exclamation 
"  My  love  ! "  and  therefore  he  himself  was  gen- 
erally called,  "  the  Prince  My-love."  He  was  the 
wealthiest  magnate  of  Lithuania.  After  the  dis- 
memberment of  Poland,  when  all  his  estates  were 
confiscated,  he  emigrated  to  Paris  and  there 
bought  the  whole  street  between  his  palace  and 
the  market,  in  order,  as  he  said,  that  his  Polish 
cook  might  not  lose  his  way.  That  street,  near 
the  Louvre,  has  still  the  name  of  "  Rue  Radzivill." 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  133 

as  every  man  would  have  to  give  me  his. 
"  I  would  never  ask  for  such  a  thing,"  I 
answered ;  "for  who  would  value  a  heart 
begged  for?"  He  seemed  pleased  with 
my  answer,  —  I  wonder  how  he  could 
imagine  that  I  should  think  otherwise. 
A  woman  to  beg  for  a  heart  —  even  of  the 
king  himself,  — why  !  it  would  be  a  shame- 
ful, base  thing.  To  accept  it,  when  it  is 
offered  to  her,  earnestly  and  honorably, 
that  is  another  thing. 

But  again  my  thoughts  are  wandering. 
To  return  to  my  narrative ;  the  ceremony 
of  the  washing  of  the  feet  was  very  touch- 
ing. I  have  still  before  my  eyes  the  king 
as  he  was  bending  over  the  feet  of  the 
poor  old  men,  and  as  he  stood  behind  their 
stools  at  dinner.  Moreover,  our  Augustus 
III.,  although  no  longer  young,  is  very 
handsome  and  stately,  and  everything  he 
does  is  done  in  a  proper  manner.  The 
Duke  Charles  is  quite  the  likeness  of  his 
father. 

On  Good  Friday,  we  went,  dressed  in 
deep  mourning,  to  visit  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 


134  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

We  were  in  seven  churches,  saying  in  each 
of  them  five  Paters  and  five  Aves  in  honor 
of  the  five  wounds  of  Christ ;  in  the  cathe- 
dral I  knelt  one  hour  before  the  holy 
Sacrament. 

On  Saturday  evening  there  was  a  grand 
"  Resurrection  Service  "  in  the  cathedral ; 
the  music  by  the  court  orchestra  was 
admirable. 

The  Easter  table  in  our  house  was 
sumptuous,  and  until  yesterday  the  tables 
remained  covered  with  all  kinds  of  meat 
and  pastry.1  Who  would  have  thought  one 

1  The  Easter  dinner,  or  the  "  consecrated  meal," 
is  still  a  special  feature  in  Poland,  and  an  elabo- 
rate affair  even  among  the  poorer  people.  During 
several  days  meat  and  pastry  are  prepared,  and  on 
Holy  Saturday  the  tables  are  set,  with  the  symboli- 
cal lamb  in  the  middle,  and  every  dish  garnished 
with  sprays  of  boxwood.  Then  a  priest  is  sum- 
moned, who  puts  on  a  white  surplice,  and  saying 
the  appointed  prayers  he  sprinkles  the  table  with 
holy  water. 

In  the  villages  on  Easter  morning  the  peasants 
bring  baskets  with  eggs,  bread,  cheese,  and  per- 
haps a  sausage,  to  church,  and  standing  in  two 
lows  have  them  consecrated. 

At  noon  the  dinner  begins  with  hot  bouillon 


COUNTESS  KRASTNSKA.  135 

year  ago,  when,  on  the  third  day  after  my 
arrival  at  the  boarding-school,  I  was  sitting 

served  in  cups;  all  the  other  dishes  are  cold. 
But  first  of  all,  the  lady  of  the  house,  holding  a 
plate  of  hard-boiled  eggs  cut  in  pieces,  presents 
them  to  every  one  in  turn,  wishing  a  "  glad 
Alleluia."  The  table  sometimes  stays  covered 
several  days,  hot  dishes  being  added  to  succeed- 
ing dinners,  and  the  pastry  lasts  sometimes  sev- 
eral weeks,  by  some  mystery  remaining  as  fresh 
as  on  the  first  day. 

The  children  always  have  their  own  table,  with 
miniature  dishes  ornamented  with  boxwood,  a 
lamb  in  candy,  colored  eggs,  etc.  They  would 
never  forget  to  have  them  consecrated,  and  the 
little  girls  very  earnestly  play  the  hostess,  partak- 
ing of  the  eggs  with  their  own  guests. 

In  olden  times,  the  Polish  houses  tried  to  sur- 
pass each  other  in  setting  the  most  sumptuous 
Easter  tables.  In  an  old  manuscript  is  found  the 
following  description  of  a  festival  given  by  Prince 
Sapieha,  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

In  the  middle  of  huge  tables  stood  a  lamb  of 
candies  and  marzipan,  which  were  distributed 
"only  to  ladies,  dignitaries,  and  church  men." 
Around  it,  representing  the  seasons  of  the  year, 
stood  four  wild  boars,  each  stuffed  with  hams, 
sausages,  and  turkeys.  The  prince's  chef  showed 
wonderful  skill  in  roasting  those  boars  whole. 
Then  came  twelve  deer,  also  roasted  whole,  and 
stuffed  with  a  variety  of  game :  hares,  woodcocks, 


136  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

at  the  poor  Easter  table  feeling  very  melan- 
choly —  who  would  have  guessed  then  that 

partridges,  hazel-hens,  etc. ;  these  were  for  the 
twelve  months  of  the  year.  Around  the  table, 
numbering  the  weeks  of  the  year,  were  fifty-two 
mazourkas,  that  is,  large  square  cakes  stuffed 
with  all  kinds  of  fruit,  and  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  babas,  for  the  days  of  the  year ;  each 
was  one  ell  high  and  on  their  iced  surfaces  were 
various  inscriptions,  mottoes,  proverbs,  and  witty 
verses,  which  the  invited  guests  took  pleasure  in 
deciphering. 

In  the  way  of  beverages  there  were  :  first,  four 
antique  silver  tankards  with  wine  from  "  King 
Batory's  time"  (that  is,  one  hundred  years  old); 
then  twelve  silver  pitchers  of  old  Tokai  ;  then 
fifty-two  silver  barrels  of  Spanish,  Italian,  and 
Cypress  wines,  and  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
bottles  of  Hungarian  wine.  For  the  household 
there  were  8,760  quarts,  as  many  as  there  are 
hours  in  one  year,  of  home-made  mead.  The 
invited  guests  feasted  during  one  whole  week. 
As  soon  as  the  morning  service  was  over  they 
surrounded  the  tables,  and  the  entertainment 
lasted  till  midnight;  the  prince's  court  band 
played  lively  airs,  and  the  young  people  were 
never  tired  of  dancing,  nor  the  elderly  ones  of 
talking  of  "the  good  old  times,"  sipping  the 
Hungarian  Malmsey,  and  drinking  to  the  health 
of  the  prince. 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  137 

one  year  later  I  would  eat  an  Easter  egg 
with  the  Duke  of  Courland? 

He  seemed  to  have  grown  thin;  it  is 
perhaps  because  of  the  long  fast.  We 
also  have  not  had  any  meat  for  forty  days, 
and  neither  butter  nor  milk  during  the 
holy  week;  everything  was  cooked  with 
oil,  and  on  Friday  we  fasted  the  whole  day. 
I  did  not  mind  it  at  all,  but  for  a  man  it 
must  be  different.  Yesterday  I  was  look- 
ing anxiously  at  him :  I  thought  he  would 
not  notice  it,  as  he  was  talking  with 
the  Prince  Woivoide,  but  he  thanked  me 
afterwards  for  my  solicitude.  I  felt  quite 
ashamed ;  how  careful  a  young  girl  ought 
to  be,  not  only  of  her  words,  but  even  of 
her  eyes  ! 

Wednesday,  April  15. 

We  leave  Warsaw  to-morrow.  The 
Prince  Woivode  and  his  wife  are  going  to 
their  estate  "  Opole,"  and  they  take  me 
with  them.  My  honored  Father  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  princess  saying  that  she  may 
keep  me  as  long  as  she  is  not  tired  of  me. 
I  hope  that  will  never  be ;  I  endeavor  to 


138  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

please  her  as  well  as  I  can,  and  I  feel  the 
greatest  awe  of  her.  If  I  ever  live  to  be 
old  I  wish  to  have  her  dignity  of  demeanor ; 
even  the  duke  is  afraid  of  her. 

I  am  glad  that  I  am  not  yet  going  to 
Maleszow.  I  have  it  in  my  head  that  I 
ought  not  to  return  there  just  as  I  was,  and 
if  I  arrived  now  there  would  be  no  change. 
No  change  ?  Oh !  yes,  there  is  a  great 
change,  but  not  the  one  I  mean.  Yet, 
things  cannot  stay  long  as  they  are  now, 
something  must  take  place.  Will  it  be 
yes,  or  no  ?  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if  it 
is  yes,  and  in  the  other  case  —  well,  I  will 
not  bend  my  head,  even  if  my  heart  break. 
It  sounds  like  riddles,  but  if  when  I  think  of 
him  I  am  afraid  that  some  one  may  guess 
my  thoughts,  how  could  I  write  more 
plainly?  As  it  is  I  have  already  said  too 
much ;  it  is  better  to  stop  and  put  my  book 
under  lock  and  key. 

OPOLE,  Wednesday,  April  24. 
We  have  been  here  for  nearly  a  week ; 
the  place  is  pretty,  but  I  do  not  feel  very 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  139 

cheerful,  and  nothing  seems  to  go  right. 
The  trees  ought  to  become  green,  but  they 
are  as  black  as  in  mid-winter ;  it  ought  to 
grow  warm,  and  it  is  still  cold.  I  wanted 
to  begin  some  embroidery,  but  I  have  not 
the  necessary  silks ;  I  wished  to  play,  but 
the  harpsichord  is  most  dreadfully  out  of 
tune,  and  they  have  to  send  to  town  for 
the  organist.  There  is  a  large  library,  but 
the  princess  has  the  key  of  it,  and  I  am 
afraid  to  ask  her  for  it.  The  prince  has 
bought  some  new  French  books,  the  works 
of  Voltaire,  the  most  celebrated  author  in 
France ;  he  paid,  before  my  eyas,  six 
golden  ducats  for  a  few  volumes,  and  not 
very  large  ones ;  but  the  princess  does  not 
allow  me  to  read  them.  What  is  still 
worse,  there  arrived,  just  fresh  from  Paris, 
a  novel  which  is  all  the  rage,  the  "  Nou- 
velle  He'loise,"  written  by  a  certain  M. 
Rousseau.  I  took  the  book  eagerly  in  my 
hand,  but  the  author  says  in  the  introduc- 
tion, "  No  mother  will  allow  her  daughter 
to  read  this  book,"  and  the  princess  most 
sternly  forbade  it  to  me. 


140  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

I  had  still  another  disappointment  yes- 
terday ;  the  physicians  in  Warsaw  ordered 
the  princess  to  ride  horse- back  for  her 
health;  she  laughed  at  them,  saying  that 
she  would  never  do  it,  but  the  Prince 
Woivode  believed  their  advice  good,  and 
he  bought  a  beautiful  mare,  quite  gentle, 
which  was  brought  here.  The  princess 
very  reluctantly  consented  to  ride  a  little 
in  the  garden,  but  I,  who  am  not  afraid  of 
horses,  was  just  dying  to  learn  how  to  ride, 
and  I  said  so  yesterday.  I  got  a  terrible 
scolding ;  the  princess  said  that  such  an 
exercise  would  be  quite  indecent  for  a 
young  lady,  and  I  had  to  give  up  all  my 
plans,  —  such  beautiful  plans,  of  riding  and 
hunting  with  —  well,  with  some  one. 

There  are  many  people  coming  here  to 
pay  their  respects  to  the  prince,  who  is 
the  Woivode  of  this  province,  but  they  are 
not  very  interesting.  The  one  person 
whom  I  like  to  see  is  the  Prince  Martin 
Lubomirski,  the  first  cousin  of  the  Woi- 
vode, but  much  younger,  and  whom  I  have 
already  met  in  Warsaw.  He  owns  the 


COUNTESS  KR^ISINSKA.  14! 

earldom  of  Janow,  which  is  not  far  from 
here,  and  he  has  invited  us  very  eagerly  to 
pay  him  a  visit ;  I  hope  we  shall  go.  The 
princess  always  finds  something  to  censure 
in  him,  but  I  like  him  very  much ;  he  talks 
most  agreeably,  and  is  a  great  friend  of  the 
Duke  of  Courland. 

JANOW,  Friday,  May  I. 

We  have  been  here  two  days,  and  the 
Prince  Martin  announced  from  the  very 
first  that  he  would  not  let  us  go  away  soon. 
I  do  not  think  there  can  be  found  any- 
where a  host  more  generous,  gay,  and  hos- 
pitable than  the  Prince  Martin.  The 
princess  says  that  he  sows  his  money  broad- 
cast as  though  he  expected  it  to  grow.  He 
has  now  a  new  scheme  on  foot :  they  are 
cutting  a  road  through  a  beautiful  forest  near 
the  castle,  —  from  my  window  I  can  see 
the  magnificent  trees  fall  under  the  axes  of 
at  least  a  hundred  workmen,  —  and  at  the 
end  of  the  road  they  are  building  a  small 
palace,  but  in  such  haste  that  it  seems  to 
grow  under  one's  eyes.  There  is  a  wager 


142  THE  JOURNAL   Of 

between  the  Prince  Martin  and  the  Prince 
Woivode  that  the  building  will  be  ready  in 
four  weeks,  and  I  am  sure  the  younger 
prince  will  be  the  winner.  The  whole 
forest  is  to  be  enclosed  with  a  hedge  and 
serve  as  a  preserve.  Men  have  been  sent 
to  distant  places  to  bring  deer  and  bears, 
besides  the  game  which  is  found  around 
here.  There  is  some  mystery  about  all 
that  hasty  work ;  I  wonder  what  it  is  ! 

This  place  is  beautiful  indeed.  The  old 
and  majestic  castle  stands  upon  a  hill 
above  the  Vistula,  and  commands  a  most 
admirable  view  over  picturesque  villages, 
forests,  and  the  winding  river.  The  halls 
and  rooms  are  innumerable,  the  furniture 
rich  and  elegant,  and  the  gallery  of  por- 
traits is  said  to  be  the  finest  in  the  coun- 
try. But  my  room  seems  to  me  the  most 
charming  of  all ;  it  is  in  a  high  tower,  and 
it  makes  me  feel  like  the  heroine  of  a 
novel.  From  each  of  the  three  windows 
is  a  different  view,  each  beautiful,  but  I  sit 
most  near  the  window  looking  towards  the 
little  palace,  the  progress  of  the  work 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  143 

going  on  there  interests  me  so  very  much. 
On  the  walls  of  my  room  is  Olympus 
painted  in  fresco.  "Venus  lui  manquait, 
rnais  il  la  possede  maintenant,"  said  Prince 
Martin,  gallantly,  when  he  brought  me  in. 

Sunday,  March  3. 

I  rose  before  the  sun,  and  I  must  have 
looked  like  a  ghost  when  I  glided  through 
the  large  halls,  on  my  way  to  the  gallery  of 
portraits. 

The  Prince  Martin,  following  the  exam- 
ple of  our  ancestors,  who  kept  with  great 
care  the  pictures  of  their  most  illustrious 
members,  and  the  memory  of  their  great 
deeds,  determined  to  gather  all  such  sou- 
venirs of  the  Lubomirski  family  in  one 
room.  He  brought  from  Italy  a  skilful 
painter,  also  called  in  the  help  of  a  very 
learned  man,  who  knew  all  about  the  Polish 
history,  and  after  long  researches  and  de- 
bates the  plan  was  carried  out  in  1 746 ; 
as  the  inscription  above  the  door  testifies. 
The  princess  says  it  is  a  pity  that  all  these 
portraits  and  pictures  are  not  painted  in 


144  THE  JOURNAL     OF 

oil  on  canvas  instead  of  "  in  fresco,"  as 
they  never  can  be  removed,  and  it  is  more 
difficult  to  take  care  of  them.  In  any  case 
the  gallery,  as  it  is  now,  is  superb. 

Yesterday  after  dinner  our  host  brought 
us  in  and  explained  the  meaning  of  the 
large  paintings,  relating  the  facts  and  the 
anecdotes  about  them.  It  was  so  inter- 
esting that  I  decided  to  get  up  very 
early  this  morning,  before  the  house  was 
awake,  and  come  here  alone  to  look  again 
at  the  pictures,  and  write  about  some  of 
them. 

The  first  picture  represents  the  three 
brothers  Lubomirski,  young  and  handsome 
men,  who  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  and 
many  lords  and  witnesses,  are  dividing  the 
inheritance  of  their  father.  Two  scriveners 
are  writing  the  deed  upon  a  roll  of  parch- 
ment, and  this  document,  dating  from 
1088,  was  the  first  historical  title-deed 
known  in  Poland ;  it  is  still  in  existence, 
and  the  family  are  very  proud  of  it. 

After  that  picture,  comes  a  row  of  por- 
traits of  stately  men  and  great  warriors, 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  145 

which  I  must  pass  over.  Then  I  see  a 
painting  representing  a  chapel,  where, 
before  a  miraculous  image  of  the  Virgin,  a 
baby  is  being  weighed,  and  the  other  scale 
is  covered  with  gold  pieces.  One  Prince 
Lubomirski,  being  childless,  made  a  vow 
that  if  a  son  were  born  to  him  he  would 
offer  to  the  Church  its  weight  in  gold,  and 
he  kept  his  promise. 

Farther  on,  I  see  a  nun  on  her  death- 
bed, with  a  halo  round  her  head;  sick 
people  touch  her  garments  and  are  healed  ; 
it  was  Sophy  Lubomirska,  who  in  the  six- 
teenth century  was  renowned  for  her 
sanctity. 

On  the  other  wall  is  represented  an 
amusing  scene :  Among  young  damsels  at 
work  stands  a  pretty  little  girl  in  a  very 
uncomfortable  position,  as  her  foot  is  tied 
to  the  leg  of  the  table.  Her  aunt,  who  has 
punished  her  thus  for  some  mischief,  is 
sternly  looking  at  her.  But  the  naughty 
little  Christina  has  grown  to  be  a  young 
lady,  and  in  the  following  picture  we  see 
her  kneeling  before  the  altar  in  her  room, 


146  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

her  beautiful  eyes  full  of  ecstasy ;  she  has 
just  pricked  her  finger  with  a  golden 
needle,  and  gathering  her  blood  on  a 
pen,  she  writes  down  her  determination  al- 
ways to  lead  a  saintly  life.  She  kept  her 
word;  married  to  Felixe  Potocki,  she  was 
as  famous  for  her  virtues  as  for  her  beauty. 
All  her  accomplishments,  her  rare  talent 
for  music,  her  great  skill  in  handiwork, 
were  given  to  God's  service.  She  adorned 
His  churches,  composed  and  sang  verses 
to  His  glory,  founded  several  convents,  and 
her  charitable  deeds  were  innumerable. 
Her  own  confessor  wrote  her  life  and  called 
her  a  saint. 

Next  come  the  portraits  of  her  two 
brothers.  First,  Stanislaus,  an  eminent 
writer,  surnamed  the  "  Polish  Solomon," 
is  surrounded  with  books,  and  Fame 
crowns  him  with  a  laurel  wreath.  The 
second,  Jerome,  famous  for  his  valor,  is 
represented  with  the  King  Sobieski,  when 
after  the  victory  near  Vienna  they  are 
examining  the  flag  of  Mahomet,  captured 
from  the  Turks ;  in  the  distance  the  Polish 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  147 

army  can  be  seen  occupying  the  Turkish 
camps. 

Then  I  stop  at  a  large  picture  represent- 
ing a  very  exciting  adventure.  In  a  forest 
covered  with  snow,  a  man  is  fighting  with 
a  bear,  who  seems  to  have  the  better  of 
him,  when  from  behind  a  woman  in  a 
hunting  costume  approaches,  and  holds 
two  pistols  to  the  animal's  ears;  in  the 
background  a  horse  is  seen  running  away 
with  a  sleigh.  The  story  runs  thus :  A 
Princess  Lubomirska,  who  was  very  fond  of 
horses,  was  returning  one  day  from  a  hunt- 
ing party,  with  only  one  servant,  when  an 
infuriated  bear  sprang  upon  them.  The 
frightened  horse  threw  over  the  little  sleigh 
and  ran  away  with  it,  and  the  two  people 
were  left  to  the  fury  of  the  beast.  The 
faithful  servant  having  only  said,  "  Your 
Grace,  remember  my  wife  and  children," 
threw  himself  forward  to  meet  the  bear, 
who  was  advancing  on  his  hind  legs,  and 
give  his  mistress  time  to  run  away.  But 
the  courageous  Pole  did  not  leave  the 
brave  man  to  perish ;  drawing  two  pistols 


148  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

from   her  belt,  she  stepped  from    behind 
and  shot  the  bear  on  the  spot. 

But  I  hear  the  Prince  Martin  talking 
to  his  dogs,  which  he  loves  and  pets  as 
if  they  were  children ;  his  greyhounds  are 
famous  in  the  whole  country.  It  is  time 
to  stop  and  run  back  to  my  tower. 

Thursday,  May  14. 

We  went  to  Opole,  and  returned  here 
again,  urged  by  Prince  Martin  to  see  the 
villa  finished ;  he  won  the  wager.  I  asked 
him  to-day  why  he  wanted  another  house, 
and  he  answered  smiling,  "  For  your  lady- 
ship's sake."  What  does  he  mean? 

Saturday,  May  16. 

The  duke  is  here  !  And,  oh  !  —  I  can 
hardly  believe  it,  —  he  loves  me !  He 
loves  me  so  much  that  he  could  stay  no 
longer  without  seeing  me,  and  the  two 
princes,  to  please  him,  thought  to  build  the 
villa  and  to  give  hunting  parties,  in  order 
to  bring  him  near  the  object  of  his  affec- 
tion. It  is  fortunate  that  it  was  dark 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  149 

when  he  appeared  yesterday.  Everybody 
would  have  seen  how  I  blushed,  and  he 
himself  might  have  read  in  my  eyes  more 
joy  than  I  ought  to  have  shown.  How 
will  all  this  end?  Until  now  I  feigned 
not  to  understand  the  hidden  meaning  of 
his  words.  I  tried  most  carefully  to  con- 
ceal my  feelings  toward  him;  shall  I  be 
able  to  do  it  any  longer,  especially  here, 
where  I  shall  see  him  so  often,  —  live  al- 
most under  the  same  roof  ? 

I  cannot  express  the  state  that  my  heart 
and  head  are  in.  I  see  before  me  either  a 
destiny  so  grand  that  I  am  afraid  to  think 
of  it,  or  so  dark  and  miserable  that  I 
shiver.  What  ought  I  to  do?  I  would 
rather  die  than  ask  the  princess ;  she  said, 
not  later  than  to-day,  that  the  woman  who 
would  believe  in  the  love  of  the  duke 
would  be  simply  mad,  and  that  his  wife 
would  be  most  unhappy.  The  Prince 
Woivode  visibly  shuns  any  confidence. 


150  THE   "JOURNAL  OF 

May  1 8. 

I  am  betrothed.  Is  it  really  true?  I, 
Frances  Krasinska,  I  shall  be  Duchess  of 
Courland,  and  perhaps  one  day  something 
more  ! 

To-day  we  went  to  the  little  palace. 
The  princess  made  a  false  step  mounting 
the  stairs,  and  was  obliged  to  stay  in  the 
room  with  her  companion,  and  we  four 
went  to  the  park.  The  Prince  Martin 
stopped  to  show  the  Woivode  some  prep- 
arations for  the  hunt,  but  the  duke  said 
he  preferred  to  walk,  and  took  my  arm. 
He  was  silent  for  awhile,  which  seemed 
strange,  as  he  generally  talks  a  great  deal. 
At  last  he  asked  me  if  I  would  never  be 
willing  to  understand  for  whom  and  for 
what  he  had  come  here.  I  tried  to  answer, 
calmly,  that  I  knew  him  to  be  a  lover  of 
hunting,  and  that  there  promised  to  be 
great  sport.  Then  he  put  aside  all  meta- 
phors, and  said  plainly  that  he  came  for 
my  sake,  "  and  to  find  his  whole  life's  hap- 
piness." I  was  stunned,  it  came  so  sud- 
denly ;  but  I  composed  myself  and  said : 


COU.VTESS  KRASINSKA.  151 

"  Monsieur  le  Due,  are  you  forgetting  who 
you  are,  and  what  you  may  be  one  day? 
You  must  look  for  a  wife  among  the  royal 
daughters."  "  You  are  my  queen  !  "  he 
exclaimed ;  "  you,  who  first  by  your  beauty 
have  charmed  my  eyes,  and  afterwards  by 
your  modesty  and  virtues  have  won  my 
heart.  I  am  used  to  having  women  run  to 
me  as  soon  as  I  have  spoken  one  word. 
But  you,  although  you  loved  me  perhaps 
more  than  any  one  of  them,  you  shunned 
me ;  I  could  only  guess  what  you  were 
feeling.  You  are  worthy  of  the  first  throne 
in  the  world.  If  I  wish  to  be  one  day 
King  of  Poland,  it  is  in  order  to  put  a 
crown  on  that  beautiful  brow  of  yours." 
How  can  I  believe  that  all  that  was  not 
merely  a  dream  ! 

I  stood  silent ;  no  words  could  pass  my 
lips.  Then  the  two  princes  drew  near  us. 
"  I  take  Heaven  and  you  for  witnesses," 
said  the  duke,  turning  to  them,  "  that  I 
will  never  marry  any  other  woman  but  the 
Countess  Francoise  Krasinska.  For  rea- 
sons easily  understood,  I  wish  my  decision 


152  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

kept  secret  until  the  time  comes,  and  I 
am  sure  of  your  loyalty  and  discretion.'- 
The  princes  saluted ;  they  said  something 
about  the  great  honor  and  their  faithful- 
ness ;  they  whispered  in  my  ear,  "  You  are 
worthy  of  it,"  and  withdrew. 

I  stood  as  yet  in  a  dream,  but  at  last  I 
had  to  answer  to  the  affectionate  words ; 
I  had  even  to  confess  that  I  loved  him 
much,  and  had  done  so  for  a  long  time. 
Should  I  not  have  made  that  avowal  to  my 
future  husband  ?  My  husband !  No,  it 
cannot  be  true.  But  then,  what  means 
the  exchanged  ring  on  my  finger?  I  had 
from  Basia  a  little  golden  snake-ring  which 
she  gave  me  at  my  last  visit ;  the  duke 
had  observed  it,  and  ordered  a  similar  one 
with  the  words  "  for  ever  "  engraved  in- 
side ;  he  put  it  on  my  finger  and  took 
mine  for  himself.  The  trees  and  the  birds 
were  the  only  witnesses  of  that  silent  be- 
trothal. But  these  rings  were  not  conse- 
crated ;  a  Father's  hand  had  not  given  me 
away,  nor  a  Mother  bestowed  her  blessing. 
Oh  !  yes,  now  I  believe  that  all  is  true,  for 
I  feel  hot  tears  on  my  cheeks. 


COUNTESS  KRASIXSKA.  153 

Monday,  May  25. 

One  week  has  passed,  a  week  of  such 
bliss !  To-day  for  the  first  time,  I  was 
struck  with  the  thought  that  my  happiness 
might  fly  away.  The  Dukes  Clement  and 
Albert  arrived  here  on  Thursday ;  the  hunt 
took  place  on  Friday  and  Saturday,  and 
they  leave  this  afternoon;  perhaps  he 
also  will  have  to  go  soon  !  How  could  I 
have  so  totally  forgotten  about  it?  Per- 
haps I  had  not  time  to  think  of  what 
would  come  next,  the  days  are  so  full  — 
not  only  with  my  heart's  content,  but  also 
with  the  duties  of  the  lady  of  the  house ; 
the  princess  is  confined  to  her  room,  as  her 
foot  has  grown  worse,  and  I  have  had  to 
take  her  place.  Or  perhaps  I  did  not  want 
to  think  at  all  and  spoil  my  happiness. 
Now  I  can  think  of  nothing  else  but  that 
departure.  What  will  it  be  when  he  has 
gone?  With  what  thought  shall  I  awake 
in  the  morning?  For  whom  shall  I  want 
to  dress?  What  shall  I  do  with  the  whole 
day  when  he  is  not  here  ! 

I  looked  out  of  the  window  toward  the 


154  THE   JOURNAL  OF 

villa,  and  saw  a  white  handkerchief  waving 
from  the  balcony;  it  is  the  "  good- morn- 
ing "  he  sends  me  every  day.  How  early 
he  is,  —  it  is  not  yet  six  o'clock  !  Now  I 
see  a  rider  galloping  along  the  road.  It 
cannot  be  he !  No,  it  is  his  favorite 
hunter  who  brings  me  flowers,  a  mes- 
sage every  day  from  him.  Oh  !  no,  my 
anxiety  was  premature ;  I  have  not  heard 
yet  that  he  was  going  away ;  we  may  have 
another  happy  week,  and  a  third,  and  per- 
haps a  fourth,  — why  did  I  fret? 

Wednesday,  May  27. 

My  forebodings  were  right ;  he  is  going. 
A  special  courier  came  last  night  with  the 
king's  order  that  he  return  at  once.  I 
saw  him  this  morning;  I  shall  see  him 
again  in  half  an  hour,  when  he  will  come 
to  say  good-bye,  and  then  when  shall  we 
meet  again? 

Sunday,  June  7. 

Two  weeks  have  passed.  Two  couriers 
brought  me  short  notes  under  the  Prince 
Woivode's  seal ;  but  what  is  a  letter,  written 


COUNTESS  KRASIXSKA.  155 

words,  for  two  people  who  have  been  ac- 
customed to  talk  to  each  other  for  hours, 
who  knew  each  other's  thoughts  without 
even  using  any  words,  only  looking  into 
each  other's  eyes.  He  left  me  his  minia- 
ture, a  fairly  good  likeness,  but  it  has  al- 
ways the  same  expression ;  I  have  a  better 
portrait  of  him  in  my  heart.  I  do  not 
answer  his  letters ;  it  is  hard,  but  I  was 
positive  when  I  told  him  that  until  we 
were  married  he  would  not  receive  a 
single  written  word  from  me.  I  think  my 
hand  would  be  paralyzed  if  I  wrote  a  letter 
without  the  knowledge  of  my  aunt  and  my 
honored  Parents,  and  I  will  keep  my  word, 
although  God  knows  how  much  it  costs. 

How  long  the  days  seemed  when  he 
was  gone  !  I  felt  in  a  kind  of  lethargy, 
caring  for  nothing,  without  will  or  desire 
to  do  anything.  I  was  aroused  by  a  very 
sad  occurrence  :  the  princess'  health  grew 
worse,  her  foot  swelled,  and  the  doctor  for 
whom  they  sent  to  Warsaw  declared  her 
to  be  in  a  critical  condition.  I  cannot 
express  what  I  felt  during  the  three  days 


156  THE    JOURNAL   OF 

of  uncertainty.  Notwithstanding  all  that 
the  duke  and  the  princes  have  said  to 
quiet  my  conscience,  I  know  very  well  that 
my  silence  about  what  has  happened  is  an 
offence  toward  her.  From  the  very  be- 
ginning I  planned  and  lived  in  hopes  that 
the  day  would  come  when  I  should  con- 
fess my  involuntary  fault  to  her,  and  to 
my  honored  Parents,  explaining  how  every- 
thing happened,  how  I  could  not  help  it, 
and  I  was  sure  I  would  be  pardoned. 
But  during  those  three  days  of  danger  my 
hopes  might  at  any  moment  have  been 
crushed,  and  then  what  would  have  become 
of  me  ?  How  could  I  live  without  having 
her  forgiveness?  It  came  to  my  mind 
also  that  my  honored  Parents  are  no 
longer  young,  and  an  unexpected  illness 
may  come  to  them,  and  I  felt  utterly 
desperate. 

The  Lord  be  praised  and  thanked ! 
The  princess  is  better,  and  we  had  good 
news  from  Maleszow;  both  my  honored 
Parents  are  in  excellent  health. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  the  princess ; 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  157 

she  likes  to  have  me  near  her,  and  now  I 
feel  most  happy  at  her  bedside  when  I 
can  do  something  for  her. 

OPOLE,  Thursday,  June  18. 

The  princess  felt  so  much  better  in 
health  and  strength  that  we  returned  here 
the  day  before  yesterday.  I  left  Janow 
with  regret;  after  all,  the  remembrance 
of  the  happy  hours  spent  there  is  the 
strongest. 

In  his  last  letter  the  duke  frightened 
me,  writing  that  he  will  be  obliged  to  go 
co  his  dukedom  of  Courland,  and  that  he 
is  puzzling  his  brain  as  to  how  he  shall  see 
me  before  he  leaves.  How  long  those 
months  will  be !  But  his  sufferings  are 
worse  to  me  than  my  own.  Several  guests 
arrived  here  from  Warsaw,  and  spoke  about 
the  change  that  everybody  notices  in  him ; 
he  does  not  look  well,  he  is  sad,  and  avoids 
society.  People  find  me  also  changed  and 
looking  pale.  I  would  not  care,  but  when 
I  hear  the  princess  explaining  that  it  is 
on  account  of  the  trouble  and  care  I  took 


158  THE  JOURNAL   OP 

of  her  during  her  illness,    then  my  con- 
science makes  me  feel  miserable. 


Saturday,  July  n. 

One  moment  of  bliss,  and  it  is  gone  ; 
he  has  been  here,  but  only  for  one  hour. 
He  left  Warsaw  last  Wednesday,  as  if  to 
go  to  Courland,  but  as  soon  as  he  was  out 
of  town,  he  left  his  equipage  and  turned 
south  instead  of  going  north;  now  he  is 
travelling  day  and  night  to  meet  his  court 
at  the  frontier.  I  saw  him  such  a  short 
time,  that  I  cannot  realize  it  was  not  all  a 
dream.  He  came  disguised  as  one  of  his 
hunters;  nobody  recognized  him  but  the 
prince  and  myself,  but  nobody  ought  to 
have  recognized  him.  He  implored  me 
with  tears  in  his  eyes  to  write  to  him,  and 
it  was  perhaps  fortunate  that  he  could  not 
stay  longer,  for  it  was  hard  to  resist  those 
tears. 

Three  months  is  the  shortest  time  for 
his  stay  in  Courland ;  how  many  weeks, 
and  days,  and  hours  in  three  months  ! 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  159 

Thursday,  September  3. 

I  have  not  opened  my  book  for  two 
months ;  they  passed  as  everything  passes 
in  this  world,  but  that  they  were  sad  it  is 
needless  to  say.  One  month  more  to  wait. 
In  each  letter  the  duke  assures  me  he 
will  be  here  in  October.  To-day  I  was 
so  glad  at  seeing  some  dry  leaves  on  the 
ground  in  the  garden ;  I  thought  it  might 
already  be  October.  We  shall  go  to  War- 
saw ere  long;  the  princess  has  forgotten 
that  she  was  ever  ill. 

I  had  great  trouble  lately,  —  a  proposal 
of  marriage,  and  a  splendid  match,  as  they 
say.  The  princess,  who  from  the  time  of 
her  illness  is  kinder  to  me  than  ever,  ar- 
ranged everything,  acting  in  concert  with 
my  honored  Parents,  and  never  a  doubt 
arose  in  her  mind  that  I  might  object.  It 
was  extremely  painful  to  me  to  destroy  her 
plans,  to  incur  her  just  anger,  to  hear  her 
reproaches,  and  especially  her  innuendoes 
concerning  the  duke.  It  was  also  very 
difficult  to  write  to  my  honored  Parents, 
not  knowing  what  excuses  to  make  for  my 


160  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

refusal.  My  honored  Mother  deigned  to 
answer  me.  "  The  Parents  who  allow 
their  daughter  to  leave  their  guidance," 
she  writes,  "  cannot  be  very  much  sur- 
prised if  she  does  not  obey  their  wishes." 
Could  I  ever  have  foreseen  that  what  I 
called  the  height  of  happiness  could  have 
thrown  me  into  such  a  depth  of  misery  ! 

WARSAW,  September  22. 
We  have  been  in  Warsaw  for  several 
days.  With  what  joy  I  approached  the 
city !  Here  I  shall  see  him  again ;  he  is 
coming  on  October  ist,  that  is,  in  one 
week.  If  it  was  not  for  that  hope,  life  here 
would  be  intolerable.  Those  visits  and 
receptions  which  seemed  so  amusing  are 
now  a  trial.  I  think  everybody  is  reading 
my  secret  in  my  eyes,  and  that  all  my 
acquaintances  are  laughing  at  me,  espe- 
cially the  women.  Yesterday  one  of  them 
made  me  so  nervous  with  her  inquiries  and 
her  false  solicitude  that  my  tears  were 
quite  near,  —  in  the  presence  of  at  least 
fifty  people.  But  the  Prince  Woivode  took 


COUNTESS  KRAS:NSKA.  161 

pity  upon  me  and  came  to  my  rescue ;  he 
is  always  so  good,  only  he  does  not  believe 
in  my  sorrow  and  troubles,  and  calls  them 
"  childishness." 

Thursday,  October  I. 

He  arrived  and  is  well;  I  have  seen 
him,  but  before  much  company,  and  when 
my  heart  was  leaping  to  meet  him  I  had 
to  stand  still  and  wait  until  he  entered  and 
saluted  the  Prince  Woivode,  and  then  to 
make  the  low  courtesy  as  etiquette  re- 
quires. No  matter ;  as  long  as  he  is  here 
and  well,  everything  seems  more  cheerful, 
and  all  will  be  well. 

Tuesday,  October  20. 

My  God  !  what  a  promise  have  I  given 
one  hour  ago  !  The  fourth  of  November, 
when  will  it  be?  It  is  the  birthday  of  the 
duke,  and  as  a  gift  he  wants  my  hand. 
He  said  that  he  will  doubt  my  affection  if 
I  refuse.  The  Prince  Woivode  also  pleaded 
for  him,  and  I  said  "  yes,"  before  I  realized 
that  I  had  no  right  to  do  it  without  the 
ii 


1 62  THE  JOURNAL  OF 

knowledge  and  permission  of  my  honored 
Parents.  But  I  will  not  marry  without 
their  consent ;  I  said  that  I  must  write  to 
them,  or  otherwise  I  would  rather  enter  a 
convent.  At  last  the  duke  submitted  and 
promised  to  add  a  postscript  to  my  letter. 
Here  my  pride  received  a  shock ;  is  it  not 
the  young  man  who  ought  to  humbly  ask 
the  Parents  for  their  daughter's  hand? 
Yes,  but  not  a  royal  prince.  For  the  first 
time,  I  felt  the  difference  in  our  rank,  —  that 
it  is  he  who  does  me  a  favor  in  marrying 
me.  But  it  is  too  late  for  any  regrets ;  my 
word  is  given. 

Thursday,  October  22. 

A  chamberlain  of  the  Prince  Woivode 
has  gone  to  Maleszow  with  the  letters. 
The  duke  said  that  my  letter  was  too 
humble,  but  I  thought  it  was  his  postscript 
which  was  too  royal.  What  will  the  answer 
be  ?  My  life  is  in  suspense  until  then.  I 
had  the  happy  thought  to  ask  if  the  curate 
of  Maleszow  could  not  come  to  give  the 
wedding  blessing;  it  would  at  least  be 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  163 

somebody  from  my  home.  The  Prince 
Woivode  promised  to  have  him  come,  and 
he  will  also  obtain  the  necessary  papers. 

Wednesday,  October  28. 

My  honored  Parents  consent  and  give 
their  blessing,  but  it  is  not  such  an  affec- 
tionate blessing  as  they  gave  Basia  when 
she  was  to  be  married,  and  it  is  just,  for  I 
do  not  deserve  it.  The  duke  expected  a 
separate  letter  for  himself;  as  there  was 
none,  he  felt  a  little  offended  and  talked 
with  the  Prince  Woivode  about  the  pride 
of  the  Polish  seigneurs.  No  matter,  it  is  a 
relief  to  think  that  they  know  everything ; 
it  is  as  if  a  stone  were  lifted  from  my  heart. 
They  promise  to  keep  the  secret  until  the 
duke  releases  them.  One  sees  in  their 
letter  some  surprise,  even  satisfaction  at 
such  an  alliance,  but  there  is  also,  espe- 
cially in  the  words  of  my  dear  Mother,  a 
kind  of  affectionate  reproach  which  pierces 
my  heart.  She  writes, "  If  you  are  un- 
happy, you  cannot  ascribe  your  misfortune 
to  us ;  if  you  find  felicity  in  your  decision, 


164  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

for  which  I  shall  never  stop  praying  the 
Lord,  your  Parents  will  rejoice  over  you, 
but  not  as  much  as  over  their  other  chil- 
dren, as  you  have  not  allowed  them  to 
share  in  making  your  happiness."  I  cried 
so  much  over  these  words  that  they  are 
almost  illegible. 

The  curate  will  come,  and  in  six  days  I 
shall  be  a  bride.  I  cannot  believe  it; 
there  are  no  preparations  for  the  wedding, 
everything  around  me  is  so  quiet  and 
every-day-like. 

One  week  before  Basia's  wedding,  what 
was  there  not  in  Maleszow  !  If  at  least 
I  could  see  the  duke  often,  but  some- 
times two,  and  sometimes  three  days  pass 
without  my  seeing  him.  He  fears  to 
awaken  the  suspicion  of  the  king,  and  still 
more  that  of  Briihl ;  therefore  he  avoids  me 
at  receptions,  and  does  not  appear  here  as 
often.  I  feel  so  lonesome  with  nobody  to 
confide  in  or  ask  for  any  advice.  Even 
my  little  maid  is  to  be  sent  away,  and  a 
married  woman,  whom  the  Prince  \Voivode 
knows,  but  I  have  never  seen,  is  to  take 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  165 

her  place.  I  do  not  even  know  how  to 
dress  for  the  wedding ;  I  asked  the  prince, 
and  he  answered,  "  As  every  day." 

What  a  strange  occurrence  !  I  am  mak- 
ing the  grandest  marriage  in  Poland,  and 
my  shoemaker's  daughter  will  be  more 
dressed  on  her  wedding  day  than  I  on 


November  4. 

Married!  One  hour  ago,  before  the 
altar,  before  God,  we  swore  to  each  other 
faith  and  love  until  death.  What  a  terrible 
wedding  !  At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning 
the  Prince  Woivode  knocked  at  my  door. 
I  was  quite  dressed,  we  went  out  stealthily ; 
at  the  gate  the  duke  and  Prince  Martin 
were  waiting  for  us.  It  was  quite  dark, 
the  wind  blew  fiercely ;  we  walked  to  the 
church,  as  a  carriage  would  have  made  a 
noise.  It.  was  not  far,  but  I  should  have 
fallen  several  times,  if  the  duke  had  not 
supported  me.  At  the  door  of  the  church 
the  good  curate  met  us.  The  church  was 
dark  and  silent  as  a  grave  ;  at  a  side  altar 


1 66  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

two  candles  were  lighted ;  no  living  soul 
but  the  priest  and  the  sacristan.  Our  steps 
resounded  on  the  flagstones  as  in  a  cavern. 

The  ceremony  did  not  last  ten  minutes, 
and  then  we  hastened  away  as  if  pursued. 
The  duke  brought  us  to  the  gate,  and  the 
Prince  Martin  had  to  compel  him  to  go 
away.  I  had  my  every-day  dress  on,  not 
even  white,  only  I  hastily  put  a  bit  of 
rosemary  in  my  hair.  Yesterday,  remem- 
bering Basia's  wedding,  I  prepared  for 
myself,  with  tears,  a  golden  coin,  a  piece  of 
bread,  and  a  lump  of  sugar,  but  in  my 
haste  I  forgot  to  take  them  this  morning. 

Now  I  am  again  in  my  room,  alone. 
Nobody  is  blessing  or  congratulating  me, 
the  whole  house  is  asleep,  and  if  it  were 
not  for  the  wedding  ring,  which  I  shall 
soon  have  to  take  off  and  hide,  I  could 
not  believe  that  I  have  returned  from  my 
wedding,  that  I  am  a  married  woman,  that 
I  am  his  forever, 


COUXTESS  KRASINSKA.  167 

SULGOSTOW,  December  24. 

I  was  not  going  to  write  in  this  book 
any  more  ;  I  saw  no  use  for  it,  as  the  friend 
I  have  won  for  my  life  had  all  my  thoughts 
confided  to  him.  But  cruel  destiny  has 
separated  us,  and  I  open  my  book  again 
to  relate  the  sorrowful  event.  In  the  days 
of  happiness,  if  they  ever  come,  it  will  be 
agreeable  perhaps  to  read  over  the  ac- 
counts of  the  past  misfortunes,  although  I 
do  not  think  the  most  perfect  bliss  could 
ever  wipe  them  out  of  my  memory. 

Six  weeks  have  passed  since  the  day  of 
our  wedding.  Nobody  has  guessed  what 
happened.  My  new  maid  swore  to  the 
Prince  Woivode  on  the  crucifix  that  she 
would  be  silent  on  whatever  she  may  know. 
Our  meetings  and  interviews,  managed  by 
the  Woivode,  were  kept  perfectly  secret. 
I  was  still  Mademoiselle  la  Comtesse 
Krasinska  to  everybody.  The  duke,  in 
order  to  be  ready  for  any  sign  from  the 
Prince  Woivode,  pretended  illness  and  did 
not  leave  the  castle,  but  in  the  end  he  was 
obliged  to  appear  in  society,  and  paid  a 


1 68  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

visit  to  the  princess.  It  was  the  first  time 
I  saw  him  in  public ;  I  could  not  control 
my  emotion,  which  was  perceived  by  the 
princess.  After  his  departure,  she  over- 
whelmed me  with  reproaches,  scoldings, 
and  warnings.  Sure  of  my  innocence,  I 
answered  perhaps  too  boldly,  and  impru- 
dently made  her  understand  that  it  was 
not  a  mere  flirtation  between  the  duke 
and  me.  On  the  following  day,  the  prin- 
cess was  very  much  agitated ;  the  duke 
came  again,  and  knowing  he  could  not  see 
me  on  that  day  in  private,  he  had  written 
a  short  note,  which  he  discreetly  slipped 
into  my  work-basket,  —  but  not  discreetly 
enough  for  the  watchful  eye  of  the  prin- 
cess. As  soon  as  he  was  gone,  she  seized 
the  basket,  and  when  she  read  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  note,  "  Pour  ma  bien  aim£e," 
her  wrath  burst  forth  in  the  most  dreadful 
and  offensive  words.  I  heard  myself  called 
the  shame,  the  blot  on  the  Krasinskis' 
name.  I  heard  that  I  would  send  my 
Father  and  Mother  to  the  grave.  "But 
now,"  she  added,  "  this  low  intrigue  shall 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  169 

be  ended.  I  have  written  to  Briihl,  telling 
him  that  honesty  and  honor  are  more  to 
me  than  my  family  ties,  and  I  feel  it  to  be 
my  sacred  duty  to  let  him  know  that  the 
duke  is  in  love  with  you,  and  that  he  must 
do  what  he  thinks  best  to  stop  this  unlaw- 
ful affection.  So  at  this  moment  the  king 
himself  is  perhaps  informed  of  your  mad 
scheme,  and  of  your  shame."  "  There  is  no 
shame,"  I  answered,  "  I  am  his  wife."  As 
soon  as  I  Ottered  these  words  I  realized 
what  I  had  done  in  revealing  the  secret, 
but  it  was  too  late.  The  princess  was 
amazed.  I  fell  at  her  feet  and  confessed 
everything ;  there  was  nothing  else  to  be 
done.  I  implored  her  pardon,  and  begged 
her  in  the  name  of  God  to  keep  the  secret 
to  herself.  She  seemed  surprised,  but  not 
soothed ;  she  compelled  me  to  rise  from 
her  feet,  saying  that  it  was  not  a  proper 
position  for  a  lady  of  my  standing.  She 
asked  to  be  pardoned  for  having  often 
treated  me  not  according  to  my  dignity,  of 
which  she  was  unaware ;  but  she  did  not 
allow  me  to  kiss  her  hand,  and  under  the 


170  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

pretence  that  her  house  was  not  good 
enough  for  a  duchess,  perhaps  the  future 
Queen  of  Poland,  she  gave  at  once  tne 
orders  for  my  departure.  I  controlled 
myself  so  that  not  one  disagreeable  word 
fell  from  my  lips,  and  I  shall  always  be 
thankful  to  the  Lord  for  it ;  the  princess  is 
my  aunt,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  care 
she  has  bestowed  upon  me  during  so  many 
months. 

I  did  not  know  at  all  where  f  was  to  go. 
Fortunately  some  one  happened  to  mention 
Sulgostow.  The  marshal,  who  came  to 
take  the  orders,  heard  it,  and  the  news 
spread  in  the  house  that  I  was  going  to 
spend  Christmas  with  my  sister.  Glad  of 
the  suggestion,  I  confirmed  it.  I  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  duke,  in  care  of  the  princess, 
in  which  I  told  him  about  the  necessity  of 
letting  my  sister  know  the  truth,  and  in 
less  than  two  hours,  in  a  closed  carriage 
with  my  maid,  1  was  travelling  fast,  not 
knowing  what  was  to  become  of  me.  I 
reached  Sulgostow  in  such  a  confused  state 
of  mind  that  when  Basia  saw  me  and 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  171 

heard  the  disconnected  sentences,  —  that 
the  princess  sent  me  away  from  her  house, 
that  I  was  innocent,  that  the  duke  was 
my  husband,  —  she  was  so  frightened  that 
she  wanted  to  call  for  help,  and  to  send 
for  the  doctor ;  she  was  sure  that  I  was  in- 
sane. No  news  yet  from  Warsaw  ! 


Saturday,  December  30. 

I  received  a  letter  from  the  duke  (I 
think  I  shall  never  call  him  otherwise). 
He  is  in  despair  about  my  departure,  angry 
with  the  princess,  and  much  afraid  of  Briihl 
discovering  everything.  I  am  leaving  Sul- 
gostow ;  the  happiness  of  my  sister  makes 
my  lot  still  more  miserable.  I  love  her 
with  my  whole  heart,  and  I  pray  God  that 
she  may  always  be  as  happy,  but  this  com- 
fortable home,  the  attention  her  husband's 
family  pay  to  her,  the  many  tokens  of 
affection  from  our  honored  Parents,  the 
little  Angela  who  is  so  fond  of  her  mother, 
and  of  whom  her  father  is  so  proud,  —  all 
this  stabs  my  heart  when  I  compare  her 


172  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

fate  with  mine.  I  will  go  to  Maleszow. 
When  I  shall  hear  the  words  of  forgiveness 
from  the  lips  of  my  honored  Parents,  and 
they  embrace  me,  I  shall  perhaps  feel 
more  tranquil.  Perhaps  the  year  begun 
with  them  will  be  as  happy  as  those  that  I 
spent  under  their  roof,  when  a  gay  and 
careless  girl. 

IN  MALESZOW  CASTLE,  January  5,  1761. 
I  have  been  here  for  several  days,  but  I 
am  not  any  happier.  My  honored  Parents 
greeted  me  in  such  a  strange  manner.  I 
wanted  to  throw  myself  at  their  feet,  and  I 
would  have  felt  better  for  it,  but  they  did 
not  allow  it.  The  Count  bowed  low  to 
me  as  if  I  were  a  stranger ;  even  now  he 
will  not  sit  next  me,  and  he  gets  up  when 
I  enter  the  room.  This  homage  paid  to 
my  new  title  is  grievous  to  my  heart.  At 
the  first  dinner  he  whispered  in  my  ear, 
"  I  could  under  the  pretence  of  testing, 
order  a  bottle  of  '  Miss  Frances'  wine.'  I 
am  sorry  not  to  taste  it  at  the  first  dinner, 
but  the  custom  requires  that  the  first  cup 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  173 

be  emptied  by  the  father,  and  the  second 
by  the  bridegroom ;  any  other  order  is 
considered  a  bad  omen.  But  will  that 
happy  moment  ever  come  ?  "  he  added,  so 
sadly  that  I  was  hardly  able  to  restrain  my 
tears.  Oh  !  that  dinner  was  for  me  a  real 
suffering ;  everybody  seemed  to  be  under 
some  constraint ;  even  Matenko  was  not  up 
to  his  standard.  The  Count  winked  at 
him  to  make  him  tell  some  jokes,  but  they 
were  not  a  success. 

He  is  a  sharp  fellow,  Matenko.  Yester- 
day he  entered  my  room  mysteriously, 
when  I  was  alone,  and  kneeling  on  both 
knees,  with  an  expression  which  was  half 
droll  and  half  melancholy,  he  drew  from 
his  vest  a  little  bunch  of  dried  leaves  tied 
with  a  white  ribbon  and  a  golden  pin  in  it. 
I  could  not  at  first  make  out  what  he 
meant  when  he  said,  "  I  am  sometimes  a 
prophet."  Then  I  recollected  the  bouquet 
from  Basia's  wedding.  I  ran  after  Matenko, 
who  still  on  his  knees  was  retreating  toward 
the  door,  and  put  in  his  coat  a  diamond 
pin  I  had  received  from  the  duke.  Neither 


174  THE  JOURNAL   OF 

of  us  said  a  word,  but  both  perhaps  thought 
that  if  it  was  strange  that  his  joking  proph- 
ecy was  fulfilled,  how  much  more  strange 
it  was  that  its  fulfilment  failed  to  satisfy 
my  expectations.  When  I  think  how  I 
dreamed  about  my  return  to  Maleszow 
after  my  wedding  !  What  royal  presents 
and  surprises  there  would  be  for  every- 
body !  Even  each  of  the  peasant-women 
was  to  receive  a  new  cap,  the  girls  bright 
fibbons,  and  what  entertainments  and  ban- 
quets were  to  be  given  to  all !  And  here 
I  return  to  my  paternal  home  after  nearly 
two  years  of  absence,  and  bring  no  gifts  to 
any  one.  When  Basia  came  home  from 
the  convent  she  had  a  little  surprise  for 
everybody,  although  she  had  no  more 
money  than  I ;  but  she  had  leisure  of  time 
and  mind,  and  with  her  own  hands  she 
prepared  the  little  trifles  which  were  valued 
so  much.  How  could  I  do  it? 

Here  my  beloved  Mother  interrupted 
my  writing.  She  came  into  my  room  car- 
rying heavy  bundles  of  costly  silks,  laces, 
and  jewels,  and  laying  them  down  on  the 


COUNTESS  KRASIXSKA.  175 

chairs  she  said  rather  timidly :  "  I  have 
brought  here  a  part  of  the  things  which  are 
destined  for  each  of  our  daughters;  I 
would  have  brought  more,  but  nothing 
seems  to  me  good  enough.  I  have  been 
talking  to  my  honored  husband ;  he  will 
sell  a  few  villages  in  order  that  when  the 
happy  moment  comes,  and  the  marriage 
is  announced  to  the  world,  our  second 
daughter  may  receive  an  outfit  in  accord- 
ance with  her  high  rank."  Moved  to  tears, 
I  wanted  to  embrace  her  knees,  but  she 
did  not  permit  me,  and  was  still  making 
excuses  for  the  "  miserable  presents,"  as 
she  called  them. 

Oh  no  !  I  cannot  stand  all  this.  I  will 
return  to  Sulgostow.  There  are  too  many 
eyes  fixed  on  me  here,  too  many  exclama- 
tions about  how  pale  I  look.  My  dear 
little  sisters  are  asking  continually,  "  Why 
are  you  not  married  yet?  "  or,  "  When  will 
you  marry  ?  "  Even  the  old  servants  ask  me 
the  same  questions.  Yesterday  the  three 
girls  whom  I  promised  to  take  to  my  court, 
came  to  see  me.  Old  Peter  brought  his 


176  THE   JOURNAL  OF 

daughter  himself ;  it  was  so  painful  to  send 
them  away.  How  astonished  they  will  be 
if  they  hear  that  am  I  married,  but  cannot 
take  them,  for  my  husband  is  a  son  of  the 
king! 

SULGOSTOW,  January  9. 

I  found  no  letter  here  from  the  duke.  I 
am  dreadfully  anxious ;  perhaps  he  is  ill, 
or  the  king  is  informed  about  everything, 
and  does  not  let  him  write.  If  the  Prince 
Woivode  were  in  Warsaw  he  would  let  me 
know,  but  he  left  a  few  days  before  me  and 
probably  has  not  yet  returned. 

The  farewell  of  my  honored  Parents  was 
more  tender  than  their  reception,  but  the 
best  moments  I  spent  were  in  Lisow,  where 
I  went  to  visit  our  curate.  I  found  him 
planting  spruce-trees  in  his  garden,  and  he 
allowed  me  to  plant  one  in  the  cemetery 
near  the  church. *  I  leave  a  sad  souvenir 
behind  me,  but  I  am  not  gay  myself.  I 
heard  kind  and  comforting  words  from  the 
good  Father,  and  went  away  with  more 

1  This  tree  still  shades  the  old  building.  (Note 
in  1858.) 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  177 

courage.     If  only   I   had   news    that   the 
duke  is  quite  well ! 


Tuesday,  January  15. 

New  trials  and  new  sufferings  during 
these  past  days  !  Will  there  be  any  kind 
of  grief  which  I  have  not  experienced  ? 

On  Saturday  when  we  were  going  to 
dinner  we  heard  the  postilion's  horn  before 
the  palace ;  the  door  opened  and  Borch, 
the  minister  of  the  king,  entered  the  hall. 
I  knew  at  once  the  purpose  of  his  coming, 
and  I  trembled  like  a  leaf,  but  he  pre- 
tended that  he  wanted  to  pay  his  respects 
to  the  Staroste  and  Madame  Starostine,  at 
whose  wedding  he  had  the  honor  to  be 
present.  He  played  this  part  during  the 
whole  dinner,  but  when  it  was  over  he 
asked  me  for  a  moment  of  private  conver- 
sation, and  then  told  me  at  once  that 
Briihl  and  he  were  informed  of  all  that  had 
happened,  but  to  them  the  marriage  of  the 
duke  was  a  mere  joke ;  that  a  wedding 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  parents,  and 
not  blessed  by  the  pastor  of  the  parish,  is 


178  THE   JOURNAL    OF 

void,  and   can    be    annulled    without  any 
difficulty. 

In  the  first  moment  I  believed  his  words 
and  felt  doomed  and  helpless,  but  God  had 
mercy  upon  me,  and  suddenly  my  mind 
was  cleared.  I  considered  whose  repre- 
sentative was  before  me ;  I  felt  sure  that 
the  Prince  Woivode  would  not  have  coun- 
tenanced an  illegal  marriage ;  I  was  aware 
that  upon  my  firmness  in  that  moment 
depended  the  future  of  my  whole  life  ;  and  I 
replied  as  follows  :  "  It  is  wrong  of  Minister 
Briihl,  and  it  is  wrong  of  you  who  speak  for 
him,  to  want  to  deceive  a  woman  who  is  not 
yet  eighteen  years  old  ;  but  I  am  not  so  igno- 
rant as  you  may  imagine,  "  I  continued,  while 
he  was  listening  in  blank  amazement,  — 
"  I  know  that  our  marriage  is  valid ;  it  was 
consecrated  by  the  curate  of  my  parish 
before  two  witnesses,  and  with  the  consent 
of  my  Parents.  Yes,  there  is  the  divorce, 
but  the  signature  of  both  parties  is  neces- 
sary for  it,  is  it  not  so  ?  and  neither  prayers 
nor  threats  will  obtain  mine  or  the  duke's 
signature."  Borch  was  confounded.  On 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  179 

the  following  day,  however,  he  tried  to 
secure  my  signature  by  offering  me  a  large 
donation,  and  when  that  failed  he  wanted 
at  least  my  promise  that,  if  the  duke  gave 
his  consent  to  the  divorce,  I  should  not 
withhold  mine.  I  gave  that  promise  in 
writing ;  I  am  sure  of  my  husband's  faith 
and  love. 


Here  ends  the  journal  of  Francoise 
Krasinska.  Continual  sorrows  and  mis- 
fortunes took  away  her  strength,  and  her 
wish  to  write  about  them  any  more.  The 
most  painful  of  her  trials  was  the  incon- 
stancy of  her  husband,  and  the  apprehen- 
sion of  the  divorce  with  which  she  was 
threatened  more  than  once.  After  the 
early  death  of  her  parents,  the  homeless 
young  woman  led  a  wandering  life  for  sev- 
eral years,  between  her  sister  Barbara's, 
her  aunt's  the  Princess  Lubomirska  (who 
could  not  remain  angry  very  long  with  her 
favorite  niece),  and  convents  in  Warsaw 


l8o  THE   JOURNAL   OF 

and  in  Cracow.  Her  fickle  husband  re- 
turned to  her  from  time  to  time,  but  their 
marriage  was  still  kept  secret,  under  the 
pretence  of  sparing  the  old  king  the  shock. 
Furthermore,  the  visions  of  a  brilliant  future 
which  the  young  girl  once  nourished  van- 
ished one  after  the  other ;  as  Matenko  had 
predicted,  the  mitre  and  the  crown  both 
slipped  away.  Count  Biron  became  Duke 
of  Courland,  and  after  the  death  of  Augus- 
tus III.,  Stanislaus  Poniatowski  was  elected 
King  of  Poland. 

The  family  of  the  late  king  moved  to 
Saxony.  Then  the  Duke  Charles  wrote  a 
most  tender  letter  to  his  wife,  asking  her 
forgiveness  for  the  past,  and  imploring  her 
to  come  to  Dresden,  where,  he  wrote,  he 
would  publicly  call  her  his  wife,  and  he 
would  devote  his  whole  life  to  her  happi- 
ness, in  order  to  redeem  the  years  of  her 
beautiful  youth  spent  in  wandering  and 
humiliation.  Although  she  had  longed 
for  this  moment  for  years,  she  did  not 
yield  at  once  to  her  husband's  request. 
Her  heart  wished  perhaps  otherwise,  but 


COUNTESS  KRASINSKA.  181 

her  self-respect  commanded  her  to  await 
at  least  a  second  invitation.  She  had  not 
long  to  wait;  letter  followed  letter,  and 
every  word  breathed  the  most  tender  affec- 
tion, and  news  came  that  under  this  sus- 
pense, the  duke's  health  began  to  give 
way.  Convinced  at  last  of  the  sincerity  of 
his  re-awakened  attachment,  the  young 
duchess,  surrounded  by  a  numerous  retinue 
sent  from  Dresden  to  accompany  her,  left 
her  native  country ;  and  from  that  time  she 
lived  in  Saxony,  not  in  the  splendor  once 
dreamed  of,  but  in  a  happy  home.  Her 
husband  now  clung  to  her  with  all  the  pas- 
sion of  a  young  lover  j  her  little  daughter, 
Marie  Christine,  their  only  child,  promised 
to  be  as  beautiful  as  her  mother,  and 
numerous  friends,  among  others  the  Em- 
press Maria  Theresa,  who  was  very  fond 
of  her,  and  bestowed  upon  her  the  estate 
of  Landscrown,  surrounded  the  "  handsome 
Pole  "  with  affection  and  admiration. 

But  she  never  forgot  Poland  and  her 
relatives,  nor  lost  the  hope  of  living  there 
once  again.  The  numerous  letters  written 


1 8  2     JO  URN  A  L  OF  CO  UNTESS  KRA  SINSKA . 

to  her  sisters,  her  goddaughter  Angela, 
the  Princess  Lubomirska,  and  others,  are 
still  kept  by  the  family  and  show  her  deep 
affection  and  solicitude  for  them  and  her 
country.  She  did  not  live  to  a  great  age, 
having  died  in  1796;  and  as  if  to  prove 
his  deep  attachment,  her  husband  survived 
her  only  a  few  months. 

Their  daughter,  Marie  Christine,  mar- 
ried Charles  de  Carignan,  Duke  of  Savoy, 
and  had  two  children,  —  a  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth Francoise,  married  to  the  Archduke 
Regnier,  King  of  Lombardy- Venice,  and 
second  cousin  of  the  present  Emperor  of 
Austria;  and  a  son,  Charles  Albert,  the 
father  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  and  of  {he 
Duke  of  Genoa,  the  latter  being  the  father 
of  Marguerite,  the  "Pearl  of  Savoy." 
Thus  both  the  King  and  Queen  of  Italy 
are  the  great-great-grandchildren  of  Fran- 
coise Krasinska. 


THE    END. 


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